A Different Cahill Story
by Burning Tulip
Summary: The Cahills awake to realize that they are in an empty room, at an unknown location. They are rescued by two mysterious girls and taken to an extraordinary place. What will happen next? As the title says, this is a different Cahill story! Warning: OC (Original Character) story.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hello everyone! This is my very first story but I hope it will be good. I really hope you like it! Let the story, BEGIN!**_  
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**Oh, right before that: I, Burning Tulip, do NOT own the 39 clues. And NOW let the story...BEGIN!**_  
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_Chapter one: Unknown Location_

The first thing Amy Cahill realized when she woke up is that her alarm hadn't gone off when it should. The second that it shouldn't go off because it was Saturday. The third that this was NOT her bed. _What the...?_ She looked up and saw that she hadn't been sleeping on some_thing. _She had been on some_one. _Looking up she saw golden eyes looking at her._ Ian Kabra._

* * *

When Ian woke he felt like the he was in the most uncomfortable place, which was at the same time the most comfortable. Don't ask him how, it just was. Then he felt a strange weight on him. Looking down he saw that someone was actually _sleeping_ on him. Auburn hair, sweet face, long lashes, jade green eyes. _Amy Cahill._

* * *

"Ian!", she said as she jumped as far away from him as she could. And landing on her brother.  
"Ouch! Amy! Watch it! You nearly..."  
"Shut your mouth Daniel!"

"Natalie? Ian? What the..."

"Dan!"

"I didn't say anything..."

"Well you were about to!"

"GUYS! Stop it, you're giving me a headache!"

"Hamilton?"  
"Hi."

"Reagan! You stepped on my foot!"

"Madison? Reagan?"

"What..."

"On earth..."

"Is going..."

"On?"

"Ned? Ted?"

"How many times do I have to tell you not to do that? It creeps people out!"

"Sinead?"

"Hi" said the Starling triplets in unison.

"Okay, what is going on here?"

"Nellie?"

"Hello, kiddo"

"Um, guys? Where are we?"

"Jonah?"

"Hi. I repeat, where are we?"

* * *

That's when the Cahills first took a look around. They were in a large room, about the size of a small apartment. It was white and had no furniture. Despite that it could be an ordinary apartment, if ordinary apartments had large,thick, vault-like doors, that is. Other than that, though, they knew nothing about their location. So the question remained: Where were they?

**A/N: Soooo what did you think? Huh, huh? Well I suppose you all know what to do now, don't ya? Just in case you don't...R&R! All kinds of critism are accepted, but please be polite.  
Love,**

**Burning Tulip  
**


	2. Chapter 2

__**A/N: Sooo this is the second chapter. I know it's small, but consider it like a introduction to characters not included in the books. The next one will be better, I promise! Thank's to everyone who reviewed! In case you don't understand something dont worry; it will all be explained in the next chapter!  
Disclaimer: I, Burning Tulip, do NOT own the 39 clues.**

* * *

_Chapter two: Strangers_

"Seraphine! Hurry up!"

"Okay, okay, I'm coming! Stop being so stressed, Shaunee! We're going to do fine!"

"How do you know that?"

"I just do. We can do it Shaunee. If anyone on this planet can do this; it's us So stop worrying. Everything will go according to the plan. But even if anything goes wrong- no let me finish- even if anything goes wrong, we always have plan B."

"Alright then" Shaunee said smiling a little "Let's go."

_2 hours and 45 minutes later_

"We're here."

"I know, I can see that!"

"I never said you can't."

"_Seraphine."_

"Okay, I'm stopping now."

"Good. Are you ready?"

"I was born ready!"

The two girls then covered their faces with their black hoods, which, combined with their totally black outfit made them almost invisible in the dark.

"It's show time!"

* * *

**A/N: What do you say? Who do you think are Seraphine and Shaunee? Anyway, review! All kinds of criticism are accepted, but please be polite.**

**Love,  
Burning Tulip  
**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hello again people of fanfiction! How are you doing? I hope well. ****So here is the third chapter of "A Different Cahill Story". Enjoy!  
Oh right the disclaimer: I, Burning Tulip, do NOT own the 39 Clues *sigh***_  
_

* * *

_Chapter three: Rescued_

"Well, it looks like we're in a room."

"No duh, Sherlock!"

"Ian, don't be sarcastic! Dan's right. We are in a room. The problem is, where exactly is this room."

"We..."

"Would..."

"Be able to..."

"Answer that..."

"If we had..."

"The proper..."

"Equipment."

"But you don't."

"No, we don't."

"Um, I have an other question. _How _ did we get here in the first place?"

"I don't know. Last thing I remember is going to bed."

A chorus of "yeah, me too" and "same" followed Amy's statement.

"Well, maybe..." Dan never got to finish that (something about which Amy was thankful later) because they all heard a loud _thud_ and a few beeping noises. Then the door opened.

* * *

Seraphine and Shaunee moved without making a noise until they reached a building. Now someone would say that the structure was abandoned. The outside of it seemed like no one had bothered going in for years. But the girls knew better. Very quietly, they reached the door and Seraphine took out a small devise and a knife from her pocket. Then she proceeded to loosen a brick from the wall using the knife. It took seconds until is was removed and a code panel appeared in its position. She connected the device, which looked like a small computer keyboard, to the panel and started typing furiously. After a moment they heard a faint _beep_ and the building's door opened. They were in.

The inside was nothing like the outside, that's for sure. While on the outside the building looked like an abandoned warehouse, the inside was a maze. They first entered a high- tech laboratory. They crossed the room, not bothering to even look around them, totally focused on their mission. They went up stairs and turned corners, all that time without crossing paths with anybody else. It was as though there was no one in there. But there was and, thenkfully, they knew it. They stopped dead just around the corner and took a peek. There stood a guard, who look like he was made out of nothing but muscle. They smirked. He was no match for them.

Shaunee went first.

"Hello."

"Who are you?"yelled the guard.

"Your worst nightmare." She attacked.

It only took one kick to bring him down.

"Tsk, tsk. Nobody trains the guards nowadays?"

"Guards? What guards? Even the triplets could take that guy down and they're three-year-olds!"

"I know! Now let's get this thing over with. The sooner we get home, the better."

"Right." Then Seraphine approached the huge vault-like door that was blocking the way to the next room. She used the same device she had used earlier to the code panel that was by the door. After typing like her life depended on it for about 30 seconds, they both heard beeping and the door slowly opened.

* * *

The Cahills stared at two hooded female figures that stood just outside the door. The figures walked in,inspected their surroundings and lowered their hoods. Two identical faces were looking at them with an amused expression on. Their looks soon turned serious though and one of them said:

"Hello, Cahills. My name is Seraphine and this is my sister Shaunee."

"We would really like to take a moment and inform you on what's going on, as we are sure you are wondering, but we are in a hurry."

"We have to get you out of here, NOW."

"So if you don't mind following us, we shall get going."

"Ha ha ha, very funny. Give us one reason we should actually trust you." Ian said.

"Oh right! The code we were to tell you in order for you to follow us was: _Mrrrp"_

"Yeah, we can trust you. There is only one person that would actually use a code like that."Dan said.

"And who would that be, Daniel?" asked Natalie.

"Uncle Fiske" said the Cahill siblings in unison.

"10, 11, 12. Okay everyone is here. Now follow us. Be quick and quiet."

And they followed the two girls. They were half way out when the first guards appeared. Seraphine and Shaunee fought with them and they knocked them out so quickly, the rest couldn't help but stare at them. They moved on without saying a word. Hardly had they moved though when seven more guards attacked. The girls moved in perfect sync. And were able to disarm the men in no more that 60 seconds. A couple of turns later, they were out.

"Be prepared to run." said Seraphine (or was is Shaunee?)

"On the count of three."

"One.."

"Two..."

"THREE!"

And the Cahills run following one of the twins who was ahead of them, while the other run behind them (no one ever figured out _how _she got there) taking care that nobody stayed behind. After running for about two minutes, they reached a black van, which the twin who was in front unlocked. They quickly got in and the van sped away, the twin who used to be behind being the driver. The girls looked at each other and grinned. _Mission accomplished._

"Will you answer our questions now?"

"Yes. Now we will."

* * *

**A/N: So? What do say? Love it? Hate it? Neither? No matter which you choose, don't forget to REVIEW! Any kind of criticism is accepted, but please be polite  
**

**Love,**

**Burning Tulip  
**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hello again people of fanfiction! How are you doing? I apologizing for not updating sooner, but I really had a lot of homework. Anyway here goes chapter 4! I hope you enjoy it! I really want to thank everyone who reviewed! You are amazing! Oh and some asked me if this is a reading-the-books story. Sorry to disappoint you, but no, it is not. Okay so... enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I, Burning Tulip, do NOT own the 39 Clues.**

* * *

_Last Chapter's Ending:_

"_Will you answer our questions now?"_

"_Yes. Now we will."_

* * *

_Chapter four: Explanations _

"What do you want to know?"

"Who are you?"

"We are..."

"How did you take down so many guards so easily?"

"Um, would you..."

"How do you know Uncle Fiske?"

"We will explain just..."

"Where were we?"

"Wait a second..."

"Where are we going?"

"If you let us talk, we will..."

"How..."

"ENOUGH!"

Everybody silenced after that. Then, the girl who was with them at the backseats of the van spoke.

"We want to answer all of your questions, we really do, but please one by one!"

"But bear in mind that there are things we are not supposed to tell you yet." finished her sister.

"What things?" Amy looked at her suspiciously.

"Just... things. Details mostly."

"Oh."

"Now that we've got that covered, why don't you ask us again? One question at a time!"

"I'll start!" ,said Dan, "Who are you?"

"Well, as we have already informed you, I am Seraphine, you may call me Ser if you want to, though, and that", she pointed at the driver," is my sister, Shaunee. We are twins, but you will be able to tell us apart. I wear my hair curly, while Shaunee prefers hers to be straight. "

"My turn!" said Hamilton quickly. "Where were we?"

"Now that is a question that needs a lot of explaining and that will be answered later." Shaunee said.

"Okay..."

"How did you fight off so many armed men so quickly, without even looking tired afterward?"

The girls shared a meaningful look before Seraphine answered.

"You could say it party a lifetime of training and partly who we are, but the later will be explained further by your uncle and our parents later."

"Now that you mentioned our uncle, how do you know him?" That was Amy.

"We met Fiske about a five years ago, when we joined the Madrigals."

"So you are Madrigals?"

"Yes, we currently are Madrigals."

"Currently?"

"Yes. That's what I said, didn't I?"

"What were you before you became Madrigals?"

Another meaningful glance between the girls.

"You'll figure that out eventually, Ian."

"How do you know my name?"

"We were given your names and a description of you. We needed it to know it was actually you."

"Where are you taking us?"Sinead asked.

"We're taking you to our house, where you will spend at least a month."

"What? Why?" everyone asked together.

"We are not to tell you that. You will be informed soon however. We're almost there."

No one spoke after that. They just sat quietly, thinking. They all had so many questions, but were not sure if they were ready for the answers. Just when the silence had began being uncomfortable, Shaunee pulled over. They had reached their destination, wherever that was.

* * *

They got off the vehicle. They were in a clearing in the middle of a forest. Once they took in their surroundings, Shaunee spoke.

"Alright now please follow us. We will walk a little, not much, about two minutes."

And so they did. They walked without talking, mostly because everything around them was so peaceful, they were afraid that, if they made a sound, they would ruin it. The landscape around them was beautiful. Tall trees that seemed eternal, a dear passing by, a little spring, everything was so perfect, that they thought they were someplace far, far away from everything that could harm them. The beauty of the nature had a soothing effect on them, it calmed them down. They must have been walking for a couple of minutes when a tall, black, iron fenced appeared. It had vines on it and even though it should have seemed totally out of place, it looked as if it belonged there, like an entrance to a fairytale- like castle. Seraphine stopped walking when they reached it and pulled a key out of her pocket. Then she placed the key into something that looked like a lock and turned it. Then the fence moved, revealing a gate. The gate had a panel on it, where Seraphine put her palm. Then a little green light turned on on the panel and the gate opened.

* * *

They walked in and were suddenly in a small town. There were five buildings and in the middle there was a giant square-slash-park. On the buildings' roofs the different Cahill branch symbols were painted. One building for each branch. On the square was a big C with the branches' symbols all around it.

"_Where _ are we?" asked Dan, who was looking around with disbelief and enthusiasm shining in his eyes.

"You are in GCC also known as Great Cahill City, Dan" answered a voice behind them. Turning around they saw none other that Fiske Cahill standing there with a small smile playing on the corner of his lips.

"Uncle Fiske!" screamed both Amy and Dan and rushed to hug the old man. He returned it for a moment and then pulled away, worry obvious in his eyes.

"Are you ok? Did they hurt you?"

"Nobody is hurt, Fiske. We were just on time."said Seraphine. Fiske looked at her and Shaunee.

"I had no doubt you would. Thank you. You did a great job."

"A great job, indeed." A man appeared next to Fiske. "I'm very proud of you. As I have always been."

"Dad!" said both twins and hugged the man.

"Um, we don't want to spoil the reunion" said Ian "but would telling us what on earth is going on?"

"But of course. Please, follow us."

"Do we have to come too, dad?"

"Yeah, we already know what you'll tell them."

"Yes, you have to come too. Your presence is absolutely essential."

"Okay, daddy." the two said, without complaining. They knew that their father always meant what he said.

They entered the Madrigal building and were guided by Fiske and the man, who was the twins' father, into a conference room.

"Please, be seated." said the man.

"We will explain a few things to you now. Please wait until we are finished to ask any questions." continued Fiske. "Girls, would you mind begin?"

"Not at all, Fiske."

"First of all we now are in the GCC as you have already been informed."started Seraphine.

"We are sure you have never heard of it before though.", Shaunee continued. "That is because GCC had forever been a secret."

"In the beginning, GCC was called GMC, which means Great Madrigal City. It was used as the main Madrigal Headquarters for over three centuries."

"When the true identity of the Madrigals was revealed four years ago, though, it was renamed to GCC"

"That didn't change the secrecy though. GCC's existence was revealed to very few from each branch."

"Only the most trustworthy were informed. You were going to be informed when you became branch leaders."

"Unfortunately, that wasn't possible after your kidnapping."

"The ones who kidnapped you are something like the Vespers."

"They are _not_ actual Vespers, though. They were defeated by you two years ago."

"We call them Vesperlings. They are not really dangerous, but they are annoying."

"Very annoying."

"This incident worried us at first, we thought that maybe they were closer to the Vespers than we suspected. It turns out that there is no reason to be worried after all."

"They are not a threat. However, we realized that we had let them come far too close to the Vespers than we should. Still, we can handle it. They won't kidnap anyone ever again, we can promise you that."

"Now back to GCC. Since you are now aware of it, you will spend some time here, as we have already told you. Here you will stay and you will learn how to work with each other and members of the other branches."

"You will learn more about the Madrigals and find out that everyone has a past and everyone has a future. This means that you will not be judged based on who you have been and what you have done, but on who you want to be and what you want to do."

"You will also learn not to judge people due to their past. We all make mistakes."

"Any questions?"

"Is this going to be like school, only Cahill- like?"

"No, no, nothing like that. You won't go to school at all actually."

"_Really?_"

"Yes, Dan, really. It is summer after all."

"You mean we won't have to go to school, because it's summer?"

"Yep!"

"Oh..." Dan looked a tad disappointed at that. He hoped that he wouldn't have to go to school ever again.

"How long are we going to stay here?" Natalie asked.

"Well..." The twins looked at Fiske and their dad questioningly.

"Hmm I don't know, what do you think Joshua?"asked Fiske.

"Oh, I don't know a decade maybe two?"

"WHAT?" Yelled the younger ones.

"Just kidding! You will spend the summer here. Then you can choose whether you wish to stay, or return to your old lives."

The Cahills looked relieved. Then Joshua, the twins father, turned to his daughters. "Why don't you show the others where their rooms are girls? You will give them a tour around tomorrow. If you don't mind, of course."

"Yeah, sure. We don't have a problem. Goodnight dad, Fiske."

"Goodnight girls. Goodnight Cahills. Have a good night's sleep because a long day awaits you tomorrow."

"Goodnight."

The twins led them out of the room and showed them their rooms.

"Okay so. To the right are the girls' rooms and to the left are the boys'."

"You pick your rooms. Once you do that, place your palm on a wall."

"The House will identify you and prepare you room with the basics."

"You can add whatever you want by asking for it."

"The House will give you anything you might want."

"Our rooms are at just around the corner."

"They have our names on them, so you will know which belongs to whom."

"Oh and something else. Lock your doors at night."

"Why?"

"Because we have three brothers. They are triplets and though only three years old, they are quite mischievous. So you should lock your doors at night. It's for your own safety."

"Goodnight Cahills. We will wake you tomorrow for our tour around the city."

"Goodnight."

And so they each picked a room (without any fighting, surprisingly) and did what the girls told them. Then they all drifted to sleep, with a feeling that this summer would be an unforgettable experience. They had no idea just how right they were.

* * *

**A/N: So what do you say? This was a long chapter now, wasn't it? It certainly took a lot of time to write! You know what to do now! That's right! Review! Any kind of criticism is accepted but please be polite.**

**Love,**

**Burning Tulip**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: A new chapter's up! Yay! I'm really happy about this one. I have been working on it for three days. I hope you like it. I want to thank everyone who reviewed. You make me really happy! :'D  
**

**Disclaimer: I, Burning Tulip do not own the 39 clues.**

* * *

_Chapter five: A tour and an unexpected surprise_

I was early and nobody was up a the GCC Madrigal building. Except for Seraphine and Shaunee that is. The twin girls were not only up, but also up to something. They had identical smirks on their faces and were waiting. Then they looked at each other and Seraphine walked up to Ned's room. She walked in and without making a noise, place a set of headphones on his head, careful not to wake him. She tiptoed out of the room and saw Shaunee waiting for her holding frying pans and pots. Grinning Seraphine took a pan and a pot, while Shaunee held the other ones. Communicating with their eyes, they wore their own sets of headphones and started banging the pots and pans.

All the Cahills ran out of their rooms screaming and in some cases, cursing.

"What happened?" yelled Ian and Amy at the same time.

They never got an answer however, because Seraphine and Shaunee were too busy laughing to say anything.

"Oh...my...God..."said Shaunee before she started laughing even harder.

"You should have seen your faces! Your expressions were hilarious!"

"Do you find this to be _funny_?" Natalie asked in a dead calm voice.

"Yes!" Another fit of laughter. "But we warn you", said Seraphine suddenly serious, "do not use that tone on us ever again. Get it?" Natalie glared at her. "I'm going to take that as a yes." she staed before smiling again. In the meantime, Shaunee had calmed down too.

"Where is Ned? Where is my brother?", Sinead asked all of the sudden. Then she glared at the twins. "Do you have any idea how much pain all this noise may have caused him? He might..."

"Sinead! Ned's fine. We are aware of the problems he is currently facing and made sure he wouldn't hear a thing."

"That does not mean he will wake up peacefully, though. We prepared your first-day-here prank very carefully last night. Ser, would you mind waking him up?"

"Not at all." said Seraphine and moved towards a bucket full of water that stood nearby. She picked it up and opened the door to Ned's room. She walked in, took the set of headphones off his ears and poured the water all over him.

"WHAT THE HELL?"

"Good morning to you too, Ned. How did you sleep?" asked Seraphine in a kind tone.

"Oh good morning to you too! I slept just fine until you woke me up by soaking me wet!"

"Oh, don't make such a fuss!" said Shaunee, who stood on the doorway. "The others woke up in a less gentle way!"

"How did they wake up?"

"We started banging pots and pans." said Shaunee mater-of-factly

"Oh."

"Now, we will let you get ready. You will find clothes in your wardrobes in your rooms. We had no idea what each preferred, so we put in a little of everything. In case you don't find what you want, though, you can always ask the House to give it you. When you get ready, come in the kitchen, where you will have breakfast. Then we will start our tour. Any questions?"

"Yes, where is the kitchen?"

"You turn right once and it is the first door to your left. Anything else?"

"Yes." said Ted "Where is Flamsteed?"

"Who?" Seraphine looked confused.

"Flamsteed. My seeing eye dog."

"Oh! The cute Labrador Retriever? He is in our animal building. We will visit it later. Would you like us to bring him to you?"

"Not now, thank you. Will he be able to stay with me?"

"Um, sure, as long as he doesn't bark a lot."

"He won't bark."

"Okay, then! Now go get ready. You have about 30 minutes to get ready and have breakfast. We have a tour to make and it si going to be long, so we better start soon. We'll wait for you in the kitchen."

With that, the twins left and the Cahills went into their rooms to get ready.

Exactly 30 minutes later, they were ready to go.

"Okay so, were to start? Oh! I know! We'll visit the branch buildings!" Shaunee decided.

"Okay, where to first?"

"Lucian!"

"Ekaterina!"

"Tomas!"

"Janus!"

"Why not Madrigals? We are already here!"

"Everybody calm down!" Seraphine said. "We will visit all the branches, so relax! The order does not say anything! We will visit the Madrigal training facilities first. We are here after all!"

"Okay, so follow us. This is the Madrigal building, which is where you will be staying." Shaunee began.

"It is also where you will stay for as long as you are here."

"This is the biggest of all the buildings, because it contains the House, which is where we are now, the Madrigal training facilities and the GCC's headquarters."

While the girls were talking, the had reached a door.

"In here are Madrigal training facilities. It is where all Madrigals train, at least once in their lives."

"Here the agents train in diplomacy, communication skills, negotiation techniques etc."

"Basically in everything a good Madrigal should have."

"To enter all you have to do is type your code in the code panel right there." Shaunee then demonstrated by typing in a number. The door unlocked and opened slightly. The Cahills entered and took a look at the room. Correction; the corridor. There were many doors each having a sign with information about the room on them. The sign was written in English and Braille code.

"Braille code?" asked Dan.

"Well, yes. We want our facilities to be easy for everyone to use. That is why all the signs here are written in both English and Braille code, while you ask the House to translate it in any langauge you wish. Shall we continue now?"

"Yes."

"Good. We are not going to enter any of the rooms, because you will do that at some point either way. So we will over in to the next branch. We will visit the GCC's headquarters last. Are you ready?"

"Yeah."

"Okay! House, open elevator."

All of a sudden the wall in front of them opened, revealing an elevator big enough for all of them to be comfortable inside it. They entered and Dan suddenly exclaimed:

"Did you do this?"

"Well, the House is equipped with incredible technology. That is how it prepared your rooms with only you placing your palm on its walls."

"It was designed and created by Seraphine and me!"

"Really?" ,asked Sinead, "You did this all on your own?"

"Well, yeah!"

"This place is our very own creation and we can assure you, that you won't find anything like it, wherever you look."

The rest looked awed.

"What branch are you in?" asked Jonah suddenly. "You said you'd tell us when we got here."

"Yeah!" said Hamilton "and we are here now!"

Seraphine and Shaune looked at each other for a moment before Seraphine answered.

"You will be told this information by the end of this day. We promise."

"Why won't you just tell us?" Ian said, looking annoyed.

"Because it is... complicated. What matters is that we are now Madrigals. That is our current branch. You will figure out the rest later."

"Okay..."said Amy, understanding that they didn't want to talk about it.

Seraphine smiled at her thankfully before moving on.

"So, I suggest we visit the Lucian now. House, Lucian."

* * *

The elevator began. It wasn't moving like any other elevator though. It turned and went up and down until it stopped suddenly. The doors opened and they were in a gigantic room filled with people. They were talking, laughing and working in a way that someone could have thought it was just a really big office, if it weren't for glass walls creating small rooms all around the place. Rooms where people were shooting targets, practicing in a variety of martial arts, dodging bullets and avoiding laser pointers, which were probably deadly. All of a sudden, they heard a scream and saw someone crumbling to the ground and a girl looking at him with curiosity.

"Alyson!" ,Seraphine said warningly, "What did you do to him?"

The girl, Alyson, turned to look at her. She had golden blond curls and amazingly deep blue eyes.

"I didn't do anything!" she said quickly. Too quickly.

"_Alyson..._" Seraphine's tone was still even, but it emitted such a power, that even the Cahills flinched a bit. Alyson did not step back, but it was obvious that she understood the power in her voice too, because she answered:

"I...might have...poisoned him...a little bit." she admitted, shooting an apologizing look at Seraphine.

"Give him the antidote. _Now._"

Not saying a word, the girl obeyed. The boy on the ground moved a little, before his eyes shot open and he run as far away from Alyson as he could, leaving the building so fast, he could have been a blur.

"Alyson! What have I told you? We do not poison people!" Seraphine's tone was now normal again.

"He deserved it!"

"What could he have possibly done to deserve being poisoned? Wait... don't answer that!" Ser said, this time smiling a bit. "Anyway... Everyone this is Alyson. She is one of the best Lucians- slash- Madrigals we have. Alyson, this is Sinead, Amy, Natalie, Nellie,Ned, Ted, Reagan, Madison, Jonah, Hamilton, Ian and Dan."

"Oh! You must be the new guys! Hello, I'm Alyson!"

After everyone bid her hello, Shaunee talked.

"Alyson is one of the two Lucian, um, Madrigal leaders, lets say. She was born a Lucian, became a Madrigal and is now in charge, along with Mathew, of the other Lucian/Madrigals."

"As you can see, here is a Lucian training facility. It is not available for Lucians only though. In fact, most of the people in here are not Lucians. In GCC we give the members of each branch to learn more about the other branches and train the way their members do."

"Lets move on now, shall we? We will now visit the Ekaterina section."

They went back into the huge elevator and with a simple "House, Ekaterina", they were off.

"As you can see all the buildings are designed the way the Madrigal one is and they are all called House."

"Oh! It looks like we're here!"

* * *

The Ekat building was exactly like the Lucian in size, but the inside was different. Yes, it had glass walls too, but instead of people dodging bullets, there were people working on computers, mixing chemicals, solving complicated equations and working on weird devices.

"So, this is the Ekaterina part. In charge here are Oliver and Marilyn, but they are usually busy blowing things up."

As if on que an explosion was heard.

"That's what I mean!" said Shaunee. "Oliver! Hey! Oliver! Over here! OLIVER!"

"Oh, hey Shaunee, Seraphine! How are you doing?" asked a boy, about 19 years old. He had chocolate brown hair and light blue eyes.

"We're fine Oli, how are you?"

"Okay, I guess. Things have been going well here too. We're close to something. I didn't forget to give you a report, did I?" he said, suddenly anxious.

"No, no don't worry. We'll inform you when its time. By the way, let me introduce you to inead, Amy, Natalie, Nellie,Ned, Ted, Reagan, Madison, Jonah, Hamilton, Ian and Dan. They came here yesterday. Guys, this is Oliver."

"Hello! Aren't you the ones the V-lings kidnapped?"

"Yes, we are the ones." said Ian.

"Wait, weren't there three Ekats?"

"That would be us." said Sinead, Ned and Ted.

"Oh great! I look forward to working with you! Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go." with this, Oliver took off.

"He is a really sociable person. He is almost always in a good mood, but when he is not-" Seraphine shivered. "It doesn't matter. We should get moving. Hmmm I think we should now check how the Janus are doing. Lets go!"

"House, Janus" They were on their way.

* * *

The Janus building was the same in size as the previous ones, but it was by far more beautiful. The walls were colorful, and had breathtaking paintings of landscapes on them. Music was playing and everybody was dancing.

"Hey Ser! Hey Shaun!"

A girl approached them. She had black hair and grass green eyes.

"Hello Cindy! Everyone, this is Cindy, the head of the Janus/Madrigal branch. Her co-head is Ron, but I don't see him anywhere. Cindy, this is Amy, Natalie, Nellie, Sinead, Ned, Ted, Hamilton, Ian, Jonah, Dan, Reagan and Madison."

"He's busy right now. He has a dancing class." mentioned Cindy.

"Doesn't he always? Anyway, what have you been doing?"

"Oh! Oh! I have finished your dresses for the GB. They are spectacular! I'm really excited about them! They are my best so far!"

"What is GB?" Natalie asked.

"GB is the Great Ball. It is held every year and has been organized by me and Shaun for the past five years. It is the most fabulous event of the year!"

"A ball, huh?" Natalie was talking to herself. Her face lit up and then she frowned. They hadn't been invited.

"Yes! And you are all invited, of course. It is in two weeks."

"We are? That's fantastic!" Natalie looked like a three year old on a sugar rush.

"Yes, yes you are! All of you. Oh and your presence is mandatory."

"Mandatory? Why is it mandatory?" Amy looked terrified. She would actually have to go to a ball? An actual, formal occasion?

"You are the new ones around here! Fresh news. You cannot not come!"

"We can help you with your outfits!"

"You mean go shopping?" Dan could have sworn that if Natalie got any more excited, she would blow up.

"Of course."

Natalie grinned. Dan was amazed. He didn't know she was even capable of grinning.

"Okay, we'll talk about the details later. Now we should pay the Tomas a visit."

Once again the all went into the elevator. "House, Tomas."

* * *

The Tomas building looked like a football field. It was enormous and had all of the athletic equipment there was. People were training, running, jumping and fighting. Hamilton looked around him in awe.

"It's...it's beautiful!" Reagan managed to say.

"So beautiful!" Madison agreed.

"I guess you are the Tomas ones?" a boy behind them asked.

"Yes, sir!"

"Good. I am Eric,one of the Tomas/Madrigal heads. The other is Melanie, but she is in practice right now." he stated. Eric was a mountain of pure muscle, with caramel colored hair and honey eyes. He was young, about the twins age and his eyes were laughing.

"Hey Eric! How's it going around here?"

"We're just fine!"

"No broken bones this week?"

"Nope!"

"Good!"

"So, you're giving them a tour?" Eric asked.

"Yeah. Oh, let me introduce you. Eric this is Amy, Natalie, Nellie, Sinead, Ned, Ted, Hamilton, Ian, Jonah, Dan, Reagan and Madison. Everybody else, this is Eric."

"Nice to meet you"s and "Hello"s followed her statement.

"Okay. Now we will go to our tour's last stop. The GCC's Headquarters. Please, enter the elevator."

They got in again and this time, when the doors closed, Seraphine said "House, Headquarters." and the elevator started moving.

* * *

When it stopped and they all got out, they were in front of a safety door. On it was a retinal scanner.

"When you want to enter the Headquarters, all you have to do is go through the retinal scan. The House identifies you and says who you are. It announces your full name, your branch and your position. Here, let me demonstrate."

She moved forward and let the scanner scan her eye. Then a voice was heard:

"Serahine Sharlin Cahill. Confirmed Lucian. Confirmed Ekaterina. Confirmed Tomas. Confirmed Janus. Confirmed Madrigal. Mayor of the Great Cahill City. Welcome."

* * *

**A/N: You didn't see that coming now, did you? I really hope you liked it. I sure enjoyed writing it. So tell me what you think by reviewing. I want you to tell me your opinion and what you think will happen next. Any kind of criticism is accepted, but please be polite.**

**Love,  
Burning Tulip**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Here goes the sixth chapter! Yay! I hope you like it. I will be able to update more from next week, when my exams will be over. I still try my best though. I want to say a great "Thank you" to everyone who reviewed. Your comments make me grin like a five year old on a sugar rush! Thank you! **

**Disclaimer: I, Burning Tulip, do NOT own the 39 clues.**

* * *

_Last chapter's ending:_

_"Serahine Sharlin Cahill. Confirmed Lucian. Confirmed Ekaterina. Confirmed Tomas. Confirmed Janus. Confirmed Madrigal. Mayor of the Great Cahill City. Welcome." _

_Chapter six: The story of a multi-branch family._

The Cahills stared. They knew what they had heard, but just couldn't comprehend it. _All five branches? In one person?_ That was impossible! And yet, that was exactly what they had just learned. _How? _Amy was the one to find her voice and express their confusion.

"How?"

"It's really simple really. Our mother is Lucian/Ekaterina, while our father is Janus/Tomas. Please come in. Everything will be explained inside. Any questions you might have. We promise."

Seraphine sounded worried. And she was. What if they wouldn't accept them? What if they had made a mistake by telling them this way? What if they shouldn't have told them at all? They could not know. All they could do is explain. They had to understand. _Had to. _ They should know not to judge people by their branch, or in this case, branches. _Right?_

So they went into the Great Cahill City's headquarters and they knew that once they went out, nothing would be the same.

* * *

The inside was a room full of monitors, where every part of the public area of the city could be seen. Training facilities, labs, painting rooms, the square. No bedrooms or bathrooms. This was a place where people's privacy was respected. It was a comfortable room too, though. It had two big white sofas in the middle, with a coffee table and an armchair, just like a small living room. On first sight, the screens looked like they were embodied to the walls, but on second it became obvious that the wall _were_ the screens. The technology of this place was really something else!

"Please be seated. We will tel you our and our family's story and if you have any questions, you will be able to ask us later."

They made themselves comfortable and waited. The two girls looked at each other and then Shaunee began.

"Our maternal grandfather met our grandmother by chance when they were in college. They had been assigned to do a project together. They fell in love rather quickly. Unfortunately their relationship had just began when they found out about their Cahill origins. Their parents had not told them, as they did not want their children to be involved in this life. When our grandparents confronted them however, they did not lie. They knew about their children's relationship and they knew that they either had to be separated or hidden. So they told them about the Madrigals. They were two of the very few Cahills to actually know who the Madrigals really were and came in contact with them. The fifth branch provided our grandparents shelter and they got married here, in GCC a year later. Our mother was born two years after that."

"Our paternal grandfather met our grandmother while on the Olympics. Our mother was one of the members of the team who had designed the Olympic mascot, while he was a fencing athlete. They literately ran into each other. Then they found out they had mutual friends and kept meeting each other. They knew that they were Cahills however, and that complicated things. Despite knowing that if their branches found out they would be dead, they kept on and eventually became a couple. That was when the Madrigals contacted them. They explained who they were and offered their help. It was a gigantic step to take, but they did it. Three years later their son, our father was born."

"Our parents were the first Cahills to grow up in the madrigal branch. The reason is simple. If the rest of the branches found out about them, they would try to kill them. So their existence remained a secret. Their story is quite cliché really. They grew up together, fell in love during high school and got married at the age of 26, when our mother was already pregnant to us. We were born and grew up like our parents. We were trained in the ways of each branch. We were trained by the Madrigals officially when we passed the test at the age of fifteen. We became Mayors of the GCC when we were seventeen, which is our current position too. Any questions?"

"How old are you?" Amy asked them.

"We are twenty one. One year older than you, I think."

Amy nodded.

"Where are your parents? We met your dad, but not your mom." was Dan's question.

"Our mom is in Canada, working on a mission, while our dad left for Italy yesterday, after you talked to him. He's visiting a friend of his."

"Are you like someone who has drunk the master serum?" Ted's question was far more serious than the previous ones. The atmosphere in the room changed drastically and everyone waited for the answer.

"No. We are closer to having all the abilities than you are, but it is still only through the bloodline. An Ekaterina for example has the branch' talents but it is not like he or she has drunk the Ekaterina serum, right?"

Sinead, Ned and Ted nodded.

"It's the same thing with us."

"Oh."

"Anything else?"

"No. Not really."

"Okay then." Seraphine smiled. Her face turned serious again though as she said:

"We do not judge you because of where you come from. Please do not too."

"Don't worry, Ser. We won't." Surprisingly, it wasn't Amy who said that. It was Sinead. Which shouldn't really be surprising. Sinead became a Vesper two years ago, when her brother Ted was kidnapped along with other Cahills. She was so desperate to make sure that he would be safe, that she joined the enemy. Half a year after the Vespers were defeated though, she returned and after a six month period she was accepted back in the family. It wasn't the same and she thought that it would never be, but it was a start. She did not have their trust back fully, but they no longer hated her. She was absolutely content with that.

Seraphine nodded and smiled. She was relieved. Everything had gone well.

* * *

They led them back to their rooms. They had spent the entire day touring the place and hadn't even realized it. They were tired now though and needed a good night's sleep. They had a lot to process too. When they reached the rooms, Shaunee told them:

"Good night, guys. We will wake up early tomorrow, but you can sleep late! Oh, I shouldn't forget, Ser and I would like to talk to Ned, Ted and Sinead tomorrow. We think we have found something that will help you a lot. Please tell the House to message us as soon as you wake."

"Don't worry. We will."

"Oh and Ted?"Seraphine asked. "Flamsteed is in your room now. I think he really likes it. In case you need anything for him, just ask me, okay? We had been doing great together before we brought you here."

"Okay. If we need anything, I will let you know."

"Good. Good night!"

"Good night."

* * *

Ted dreamed of Seraphine's voice that night. He really liked it. He may have not been able to see her, but he could listen to her clearly and he thought she had the smoothest voice he had ever heard. He could also tell she smiled a lot. He could hear it. He had learned how to tell people's emotions from their voices and Seraphine's voice intrigued him. It had a seriousness and a cheerfulness in it at the same time. It also hid intelligence and that was extremely important to him. He would ask Ned about her looks tomorrow, he decided. He whistled and Flamsteed came over to him. He then crawled next to him in bed. He would have a nice, relaxing, long-lasting nap and he would talk to Ned. _Tomorrow..._


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Hello again everyone? How have you been doing? I hope quite well. I try to update as soon as possible, I promise. I think I have been doing well so far. :D I want to thank everyone who reviewed. You guys are amazing! Your comments make me smile and jump up and down like a crazy chimpanzee! (weird...) Anyway! I love you all!  
**

**Disclaimer:I, Burning Tulip, do not ow the 39 clues.**

* * *

_Chapter seven: Hope_

Ted woke up to the soft sound of music playing. _Piano_. It was quite early though, so could the pianist be? He decided to check it out. He _was _ an Ekaterina after all and mysteries were appealing to him. Besides, what can be a better exercise for the mind than a good mystery? So he got up, put on some clothes quickly (he asked the House for them) and got out of his room to investigate. Following the sound was easy; one of the few advantages to being nearly blind was that his other senses had been enchanted since he depended on them fully now. He followed the corridor outside his room and turned right. The music was a bit louder now. He went closer and felt the wall. He used his hands and tried to find a door or something that would lead into a room, where he could find the mystery piano player. He suddenly touched something. A doorknob. He hesitated. He tried to inspect the door with his hands. There was a sign, which had Braille on it. _Weird_, he thought. Then he remembered what the twins had said about every sign being written in both English and Braille, so that everyone would be able to read them. He traced the dots with his fingers. The sign said: Seraphine S. Cahill. So it was Seraphine's room. He hesitated even more. But the music was soft and magical and he couldn't help but knock.

* * *

Seraphine woke up really early that morning. Which was really unlike her. It was summer after all and she never woke up earlier than 12 at summer. Ever. But she that day she had and couldn't sleep again. So she did what she always did if she couldn't sleep; played the piano. Music always relaxed her and piano was her favorite instrument. And the only she good at, for that matter. So she just went through her morning routine quickly and began. She just played, not really realizing what. She didn't care and to her, it didn't matter. So she kept on, losing herself in the music. If asked why she loved the piano so much, she would just say that she found the music coming from it nice. But, in reality, she loved it because it made her feel free. As a mayor of a secret town and the head in many missions, she always had something to do. She had responsibilities and, even though she wouldn't change anything, she still sometimes felt like she was missing something. Like life moved on without her. That's when she would play the piano. When she did so, she forgot about the rest of the world and for a moment she could stop being Seraphine Sharlin Cahill, mayor and born member of four branches and be Seraphine, a 21 year old girl. And she treasured those moments, because they were so rare. So she was playing again, lost in her own, personal world of piano music when she heard a knock. _There goes the moment!_ She sighed and got up to open the door.

* * *

Ted heard someone approaching the door and guessed it was Seraphine. He suddenly felt that knocking the door might not be a very good idea after all. He heard the door opening and then

"Ted?"

She sounded surprised to see him there, so he said the first thing that popped in his mind.

"Good morning Seraphine."

"Good morning to you too. Is there something you need? Why did you come?"

Why _had_ he come, really? He didn't know. He had just followed the music...

"I just followed the music."

_Oops. _He said that out loud.

"I mean... I heard music and I wanted to know who it was playing. I didn't mean to bother you. Sorry."

"No, no, you didn't bother me. Don't worry. Would you like to come in?"

"Uh... yeah, sure, why not?"

His fluency was incredible. She gently took his hand and led him in and to a couch. She then moved away. He didn't like that. The slight pressure of her palm against his was... nice. He didn't know why, but he had liked it.

"Would you like some coffee? Tea? Orange juice?"

"No thank you."

There was his fluency again. He felt her come and then sit beside him. Not close enough for her to touch him, but close enough for him to fell her presence. _Say something! Anything! _He thought. All he could think of, though, was the music. So he said something about that.

"You are a really good piano player you know. You were the one playing, right?"

Oh, God, what if she wasn't?

"Yes, it was me."

That's funny. She didn't sound at all like she did yesterday. She sounded like she was a bit... embarrassed?

"Did you really like it?"

"Yes. It was very nice."

Seriously now, he had to be more fluent. He was an Ekat for Einstein's sake! He _always _knew what to say. So what had happened to him?

"Thank you."

Okay, who was he talking to? He may not have known her for a long time (only a day, actually), but that was _not _ how she sounded yesterday. Her voice still hid intelligence and power, but it was softer now, less business like. Maybe that was why he was at loss of words. She didn't sound like he thought she would. Then an idea hit him.

"Would you mind playing a bit? I would like to hear you."

"You want me to play for you?"

She sounded pretty caught by surprise.

"Yes. If you want of course! I'm not making you, or anything. I would just... like to hear you play."

"Okay then!"

Ted sworn he heard her smile. Then he felt her rise and take a few steps. He waited for a second and after that music filled the room. It was the most wonderful sound he had ever heard. It was soft and peaceful and... he couldn't really describe it. It was amazing. It was a delicate melody, one he could not identify. He figured he didn't care. The music slowly ended.

"Wow. You really are great at it!"

"Thanks!"

He wasn't lying. She did play extremely well. He used to play piano too, a long time ago...

"I used to play piano too."

Okay, what was the matter with him? First he doesn't know what to say, then he says exactly what he's been thinking...twice! _This is a weird day..._

"You did?"

"Yeah. A long time ago though. I haven't played for years."

"Why don't you give it a shot?"

Give it a shot? _Give it a shot?_ She must have been kidding. He couldn't just give it a shot!

"No thank you."

"Why not?"

She sure is persistent, he had to give her that!

"Because I had never been good and it has been quite along time since I last played and I won't be good."

"What?"

Seraphine laughed. She was not making fun of him, however.

"I'm sure you'll do just fine! Com' on! I played!"

Ted was surprised. He hadn't expected that. Her laugh was... like an explosion of colors. Which ironic, because he couldn't see any color now, let alone an explosion. So he rephrased. Her laugh was like an explosion of emotions. He had the impression that who he was talking to now, was the real Seraphine. He didn't know why she was opening up to him, but she was. And he liked it. He hesitatingly gave in. Playing a bit of piano wouldn't hurt, now would it?

* * *

Seraphine found it easier to open up to Ted and that surprised even her. She didn't really know him and yet she was being herself. Maybe not knowing him made it easier for her to open up. Or maybe the effect of the piano hadn't worn off. She didn't know. What she knew is that she liked it. And when she had played for him... well that was a first. She had never played in front of anyone before. She had sung, but never played. That was something Shaunee did. She was talented when it came to instruments, while Seraphine could sing and write. They had a balance between them, so Seraphine had never felt like she wanted to play in front of an audience. But playing for Ted... It had been nice, actually. And he had complimented her on her piano skills, which really made her fell kind of happy? Satisfied? She wasn't sure. Something between the two. She suggested he played next. It took a while, but she convinced him. She took his hand again and led them to the piano. She knew she could just tell him and didn't have to lead him, but he didn't complain and, in all honesty, she liked the feeling of her hand in his. Another thing she couldn't explain. They reached the piano and immediately left his hand, feeling a bit awkward. She sat and so did he. He placed his hands on the keyboard, took a deep breath and started.

He was okay. He wasn't good, but he wasn't bad either. He did have potential though, Seraphine could tell. He did not play for long. When he stopped neither said anything for a while. Then Seraphine spoke.

"You are not bad you know. Maybe a little rusty, but certainly not bad."

"You think? Because I think I'm helpless!"

A small laugh escaped her.

"You are not helpless! Just need a few lessons. Hey! I could teach you!"

She was _not _planning on saying that. But she did and now she couldn't take it back. It was as if she had no control over her tongue for a second. But she was right. He _did _ just need a few lessons and she _could _ teach him.

"You could?"

She decided to stick on what she said. Her instinct told her that she should, and it was never wrong.

"I could. If you'd like me to."

She would realize it later, but she was wishing he would agree at the moment.

"I wouldn't mind, but there is a problem."

Ser was disappointed. She told herself it was due to the fact that he could actually be really good.

"What problem?"

"I cannot see. I won't be able to read the notes."

"That's not a problem!"

She was relieved.

"Really?"

"You can't see but you can touch, can you not?"

"Yes, I can."

"Well there. Music is not about seeing. It's about feeling. If you can touch the keyboard and can feel the music, you'll be fine. So, will we get on with the courses?"

"Yes."

* * *

Hardly had he said that when a screen appeared in front of Seraphine. A robotic voice was heard.

"Miss Seraphine, Sinead Starling and Ned Starling have asked to see you and miss Shaunee. They sent a message: 'Good morning Seraphine, good morning Shaunee. You asked to see us and Ted today. We don't know where he is, but we are awake. Could you come in contact with him and then speak with us? Thank you'"

"Oh right! Come on Ted. We have to find you siblings and my sister."

She took his hand and led him out of the room, where they found Shaunee.

"Good morning sis! Good morning Ted. I suppose you heard the message?"

She did not comment on why Ted had been in Seraphine's room, nor on why her sister had been holding his hand. She knew Seraphine would talk to her later. Now they had other things to do.

"We have. Shall we get going?"

"Going where?" asked Ted

"To find your siblings of course." Seraphine responded.

* * *

Shaunee led the way, while Seraphine followed close behind, with her still holding his hand. (He hadn't complained yet, and they moved faster this way.) Once they took the turn to the corridor where the other Cahills stayed they immediately saw Sinead and Ned waiting for them.

"There you are!" Sinead and Ned said at the same time, relief evident on their tone.

Seraphine had left Ted's hand the second she had spotted them, so they never saw that. Ned took his place next to his brother and took her place in leading him. She wasn't pleased with the change, but let it pass. She had more important things to do.

"Good morning Sinead, good morning Ted!" both sisters greeted

"Good morning. What did you want to talk to us about?"

"Straight to the point I see!" Seraphine joked. "Well, we'll get to that. We can't talk in here now, can we? Let's go. We'll go to the conference room. There we will be able to talk."

They reached it and sat in a small circle. It was Shaunee's turn to do the talking, so she began.

"We are aware that Ned and Ted have been facing problems since the incident at the Franklin Institute during the Clue Hunt. We were given details about the problems you have been facing and we think we might have come up with something."

"What do you mean by 'come up with something'?" Sinead asked.

"We believe we might have found a way to help them."

"Help us how?" asked Ned.

"By treating you."

Silence welcomed Shaunee's worlds.

"How can you do that?" Ted's voice was a whisper.

"We have been experimenting on pills that may help Ned temporarily and have been designing surgeries which could have permanent effect."

"How?"

"The pills are based on a pill Ser created two years ago, to cure hangover. It's effects were superb. It cured hangover within a minute and had almost no side effects. The headache wouldn't return but it wouldn't prevent another hangover if the person got drunk again. The surgeries are something completely new. Nothing is perfected yet and there is plenty of work to be done, but we are optimistic. If the five of us worked together... we think we would be able to make it."

Nobody spoke for a while. Then:

"How long will it take?"

"If we do work together, about a month of work on the pill and three months on the surgeries."

"Only?"

Seraphine and Shaunee smiled and Seraphine persponded.

"Yes."

"Do you really think it will work?"

"Yes."

The Starlings didn't even have to look at each other. They all said in perfect sync.:

"We're in."

"Good. We start tomorrow."

The twins and the triplets smiled. The former because they would have a chance to help people. The later because there was finally hope. Solid hope, something they could rely on.

* * *

No one of them knew it at the time, but this day was bound to change their lives for ever.

* * *

**A/N: Oooh spooky ending! Tell what you think in your REVIEW! Any suggestions? I would love to hear them! Also, could some one please tell me age of the Starling triplets? (I don't care in which series.) Thank you!  
Any kind of criticism is accepted, but please be polite.  
**

**Love,  
Burning Tulip**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Hello again! I apologize if I take too long to update. I really try to do so as soon as possible. Anyway! Have I ever said how much I love my reviewers? You guys are incredible! Your reviews never fail to make me smile like an idiot. Thank you! So here goes chapter eight. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I, Burning Tulip, do NOT own the 39 clues.**

* * *

_Chapter eight: Getting to know each other_

When Amy Cahill woke up that day, she didn't remember a thing that had happened the day before. Three seconds later, the last day's events hit her. And gave her a headache. She had so many things to process and get used to. First of all, there was an entire Cahill CITY she knew nothing about until the day before. Secondly, there were two mysterious twin girls that claimed to be members of all four original branches. BORN members, that is. And she hadn't known. Nobody had. No, scratch that. Fiske had known. But he hadn't said a thing to her, nor Dan. If she wanted to be honest with herself, she had to admit that it hurt a bit. Of course he had explained. They were too young, they weren't ready to handle something like this. _But we have handled so much more than that! _She thought bitterly. _ We were part of the deadliest race there has ever been; the Clue Hunt. We were the ones who had to fight off dangerous enemies, even though we knew nothing about them; the Vespers. And yet, were were not ready to handle something like this? When we entered the Clue Hunt, Dan was only eleven. Eleven!_ _We had to beat crazy relatives who tried to __kill__ us__. Relatives who were involved in our parents death. Our parents __murder.__ But we wouldn't be mature enough to know something like this? Seriously, Uncle Fiske? Seriously? _She couldn't really believe it. Nor understand it. Why had this place been kept a secret, even _after _ the Madrigals' exposure? There weren't supposed to be any secrets. So why didn't anyone know about this? She did not know how to answer all of these questions. She felt kind of betrayed. And hurt. And angry. But she calmed herself down, just like she always did when she was upset and thought about it.

One of the reasons for the secrecy of this place could be the twins. They were a part of all five branches and born in four of them. So Amy could figure out why their existence had to be a secret. If the rest of the branches knew, they would try to kill them. One more reason would be the way the Madrigals functioned. Every Madrigal was a bit secretive, some (like Fiske) more than others. It would have to be hard to have everyone know you exist after spending about 500 years in hiding. Then there was something one of the girls had said. GCC had been a shelter for many Cahills who decided that they didn't want to help their branches rule the world. This city had been a place for them to hide, an umbrella to protect themselves from the storm, called the Clue Hunt, which had been destroying the world slowly. What would happen to these people if their branches found out about GCC? Amy didn't want to know. So she kind of understood why GCC had to remain a secret. She did not like the fact that Fiske hadn't told her, but she would get over it. She was not the kind of person who held grudges and she knew Fiske would explain things further. He always did. So she relaxed and told herself that she would talk to Fiske when she saw him again. That might take a while because a) Fiske was someplace else at least once a week, and b) they would have to stay here at least until the end of the summer. And considering it was still June, that would take a while. But Amy _was _patient and she could wait. Besides, who knew, maybe she wouldn't ave to corner Fiske and make him tell her everything. By summer's end, she may already know.

With that thought she got up and went through her morning routine: she brushed her teeth, washed her face, put on her clothes. She had found a suitcase with some of her clothing in it last night, before she went to bed. She inspected her room. It was simple: a desk, two chairs, a TV, a laptop and a bed. There was a door which led to her bathroom. That was it. No decorations and the walls plain white. She wanted to change that. She tried to remember what the twins had said. Something about how to make changes in their rooms... _"You can add whatever you want by asking for it" _That's it! SO how to ask, how to ask... She decided she would talk to the House. Just like the twins did.

"Um... House?" she asked hesitatingly. A voice was heard however.

"Amy Cahill. Is there something you want?"

Wow. This place's technology was incredible! Amy was sure even the Starlings would find it extraordinary.

"I would like to, um, decorate the room?"

It was more of a question than a statement, really.

"As you wish. What would you like?"

And so she described how she wanted her bedroom to be. It took a while, but she managed to make it look the way she wanted, eventually.

"Thank you, House. It's okay now."

"Goodbye Amy Cahill."

Well, the girls house was certainly polite! She inspected her room and she was pleased with what she saw. She had made it a light blue color and placed a few paintings of the sea on the walls. Well, she had the House do it. But still. It had been her ideas and that's what mattered. She checked the time. _9:03_ It was early, but she was an early riser. SO she decided to go out and try to find the kitchen. Key word, try. She did not know this place, after all, and she was not sure if she could make it. She would ask the house if she got lost. So she opened the door, took a step or two and bumped right into Ian Kabra.

* * *

When Ian woke up he was _not _in a jovial mood. First of all, this was not his bed. There were no Egyptian silk covers and that pillow certainly did not contain swan feathers. Second of all, he knew that he would have to tolerate this bed for a long while. It was only June and they would have to stay at that place at least until summer's end. And he wasn't happy about that. _ This is going to be a long summer..._ he thought. There was not much he could do though, and he knew it. He would never admit it to anyone, not even himself, but Ian was not fond of the idea of disagreeing with Fiske Cahill. In fact, he kind of respected him. He was a man capable of many things and Ian had the chance to figure it out himself. He had proved to be extremely resilient and had recovered surprisingly soon after the Vesper Incident. He was the second to recover fully, actually, after Nellie, Amy's other guardian.

_Amy..._ He wasn't sure how he felt towards her. He knew he should fell repelled at even the thought of her, but he didn't. She... fascinated him, in a way. She was not like any other girl he had ever met. Not because she was shy, or a bookworm. He had met plenty of them. Not because she didn't throw herself at him the very moment she saw him, though that was a part of the reason. Unlike what most people believed, not every girl that laid her eyes on Ian did that. No, it was Amy's intelligence and leader potential that attracted him to her. Amy had always had a silent power of some sort. She was smart; a lot actually. And she could be a great leader; she had proved that multiple times. And yet, she chose to hide, to stay out of the spotlight. Most of the time, at least. But then, just when you would think she is worthless and start forgetting about her; that was when she would expose herself to the light, to defend her family or friends and her presence would be blinding. And _that _was what fascinated him. Was it mere fascination, though? Mere respect? No. It was more and he knew that. The problem was, he could not say what this _more_ was. It was sad how he had spent so long trying to hide his feelings and make them disappear that he was now unable to identify them himself. But, on the other hand, maybe what he felt for Amy was new. Maybe he couldn't name it because he had never felt it before. Which was kind of sad too.

* * *

He got out of bed and took a quick shower. He got dressed and exited his room. Hardly had he taken a step though when someone bumped into him. His quick reflexes worked perfectly as he caught her and steadied her.

"Good morning, love."

"G-good morning, Ian."

She cursed internally. She rarely stuttered now, but that didn't mean she didn't stutter at all. And her stutter had chosen the perfect moment to make a big comeback.

"Would you happen to know where the kitchen is, love?"

"Actually, no. I think the twins mentioned it yesterday, but I can't remember what they said."

She didn't bother to tell him not to call her 'love'. She did blush a bit, though.

"How do we find it then?"

"We could always ask."

He looked confused and a bit, amused?

"Ask who, love? I don't see anyone around but you and me."

"The House. House, where is the kitchen?"

"You follow this corridor, turn right and the kitchen is the second door on your right."

"Thanks!"

They started walking at the same time and Amy found herself once again comparing her strides to his. She stopped once she realized it though. She didn't want to remember what had happened the last time she did that.

* * *

When they entered the kitchen they saw that Ned, Ted, Sinead, Shaunee and Seraphine were already there. They were chatting and Seraphine was making breakfast. Amy noticed that Sinead's smile was wider that usual.

"Good morning!" she greeted.

"Good morning!" the others replied.

Amy took a seat next to Sinead and Shaunee, while Ian sat next to Ned.

"Why are you smiling? Did something happen?" Amy asked Sinead

"Yes! Shaunee and Seraphine say that they can cure Ned and Ted!"

"Really?" Amy smiled too. "That's fantastic!"

"Yeah! They are already working on a pill for Ned's headaches and planning surgeries for both of them!"

Sinead was so excited, Amy thought she might blow up from excitement and happiness. She was beaming. Literally.

"It's not just us, Sinead. We will need your help." Shaunee said. But she was smiling too.

"Still!"

Shaunee just laughed and said nothing.

"Seraphine? What are you doing?"

It took Seraphine a moment before she answered. She look so concentrated that Amy doubted she had heard her at all for a moment. Then she replied.

"I'm trying to make pancakes. And failing miserably."

"Ow, come on! You cannot be that bad!" Shaunee said. "I thought you could cook anything."

"That's right!" her sister retorted. "I can _cook_ anything not make breakfast!"

"Okay, okay! Move away from the stove before you burn the house down. Again."

"Hey! That only happened once! And it was only the kitchen, not the entire house!"

"Yeah, whatever you say, sis."

Seraphine didn't answer that. Instead, she just sat next to Ted and started a conversation with him. A minute or so afterward the rest of the Cahills entered the room.

"You guys should really give out maps. This place is a maze!" said Hamilton.

"A map, huh? We'll think about it!"

It wasn't particularly funny, but everyone laughed. Even Ian. Shaunee finished making the pancakes and served them. It was a nice morning, everyone was talking with someone and the twins seemed to blend in perfectly. Gone were the cold 21 year olds. In their place were two Cahill girls who laughed and joked and answered a few questions and just let everyone get to know them. It was nice, actually. They were far from normal, but so was everyone else in that room. They wouldn't judge them, like others would. The Cahills in that room had learned not to judge people so easily and were giving them a chance. So they took it. They had to spend a summer with them either way, so why not make the best out of it? And just like that, the twins knew. They didn't have to say a word. They had decided that, yes, they would let these people know them ad the other way round. They had a feeling that the people to whom they were currently talking to would be important in their lives. That they would bring changes. They had learned never to underestimate their instincts and weren't going to start now. They looked at each other and smiled. This would be a very interesting summer...

* * *

**A/N: Is this a bit too small, or is it just me? I'll try to make the next one longer... Okay. Sooooo what do you think? I really want to hear your suggestions. So why not let me know by (dun dun dun) REVIEWING? That's right! Review! If there is anything you don't like, or any question you might have, then please tell me. I would love to answer them. I will probably update again in two days. **

**Love,  
Burning Tulip**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Hello there! This is the ninth chapter of "A different Cahill story" and it might be in two parts (it probably will be). I want to say a huge 'Thank you' to everyone who reviewed, it really means a lot to me! I am trying really hard for this story and spend at least two days writing each chapter. So, I hope you like it! Love ya all!**

**Disclaimer: I, Burning Tulip, do NOT own the 39 clues.**

* * *

_Chapter nine: Excursion  
_

They must have been talking for about an hour when they heard loud footsteps and the door to the kitchen burst open. Everybody's head turned towards the noise. There, by the door, stood three little boys, who weren't older than three. They were clearly triplets, but each had different eye color. The boy who was on the right had green eyes, the one in the middle blue and the one on the left brown. They looked a lot like Seraphine and Shaunee, who rose from their seats the moment they saw them and hugged them. The boys started laughing when the girls picked them up and tickled them. Then, the twins turned to face the rest of the Cahills in the room, smiling.

"Guys, remember when we told you we have three brothers? Well, here they are. This-", she pointed at the green eyed one, "is Jason, this-", she pointed at the blue eyed one, "is Mark and this- ", she pointed at the brown eyed one, "is Kevin." Seraphine introduced. "They are three years old."

"Almost four!"

Seraphine laughed. She made them breakfast (cereal and juice) and sat back down. Nothing was said for a while and the rest were ready to leave, when she suggested going on a day trip.

"A day trip?"

"Yes! We can have a picnic and swim in the nearby lake. It's going to be fun! And", she added, "we will have the opportunity to 'bond' and 'work together' as your Uncle Fiske keeps saying we should do. Come on!"

"I don't see why not." Amy agreed. " It is a really good chance to get to know each other better. And it will probably be fun too."

"Great! It's settled then. You have an hour to get ready. In the meantime, I'm going to prepare some fingerfood. Shaun, could you drop the boys off to Alyson's?"

"Are you sure?" Dan said disbelievingly "You are going to let your brothers with a Lucian?"

"Well, thank you, Daniel." Ian's sarcasm was obvious.

Dan was about to answer when Shaunee, sensing the danger of an argument that would definitely ensue, spoke up.

"Alyson loves them and so do they. They will have a good time. Now, you should go get ready. We'll meet again here in an hour. Let's go now boys."

Everyone rushed to get ready while Seraphine started searching the cupboards to find the ingredients she would need and Shaunee moved towards the main entrance with her brothers.

* * *

One hour later, everyone was in the kitchen and ready to go.

"Did you all bring swimsuits? We are going to be swimming, you know."

Everybody said yes, except for Amy and Sinead. They just looked around the room, their eyes not resting anywhere.

"Girls... come on! You have ten minutes to find a swimsuit. In case you don't have one here, ask the House to give you one. We'll wait."

She wouldn't take no for an answer, so they left. Six minutes later, they were back and they all left the House. They wouldn't take a car, Seraphine explained, because the countryside was plain beautiful and the place they were heading at was really close, so a vehicle wouldn't be necessary. The moved just like they did when they were rescued. One twin girl (Seraphine) was in front of them, the other (Shaunee) was behind. They walked all together at the same pace and they were all talking with each other. Seraphine was engaged in a conversation with Ted, who had brought Flamsteed with him, and Shaunee was talking to Jonah, who, as she found out, shared her love for Shakespeare. Amy was discussing with Ian about who-knows-what, Dan was getting on Natalie's nerves, the Holt twins were busy chasing each other, Sinead was talking to Hamilton, who surprisingly liked computer programming and was not as dumb as she thought and Nellie was explaining to Ned how math are essential to anyone who wants to be a good cook. They must have been walking in the woods surrounding GCC for about ten minutes when they reached a clearing. The place was absolutely wonderful. There was a lake with crystal clear blue water, the grass was soft and had an amazing shade of green, there was a small stream and the giant trees shaded most of the place. This place looked like it was a fairy's palace, which humans had found by mistake. There was a soft breeze, which was barely noticeable.

"This place is breathtaking!" said Amy, stunned, her voice a soft whisper.

"It is, isn't it? We found it quite by accident, really. We were playing hide and seek, and I was trying to find a place to hide where Shaunee wouldn't find me. As I was running, I found this clearing. We have spent countless days and night here after that."

* * *

They spent the next two hours there, swimming, talking, laughing, joking. Amy proved to be a very good swimmer, actually. Shaunee swam too, even competing with the Holt twins at same point (she won). Seraphine did not, though. Instead, she stayed with Ted. She described the scenery and he smiled.

"This must be a very pretty place." he noticed.

"It is!"

Neither said anything for a while, until Seraphine decided to break the silence.

"Tell me something about you."

"What?"

"Tell me something about you. We are supposed to get to know each other, right? So, tell me something about you."

"Okay." he laughed. "What do you want to know?"

"Anything you are willing to share."

"Hmm okay. Well, my name is Ted Starling and I am 24 years old. I am a Cahill, a member of the Ekaterina branch. I have a seeing eye dog named Flamsteed. I like math, science and history. I have taken part in the Clue Hunt. What else? I went on my first mission with my siblings when I was 11. I hate garlic. My favorite color is sea blue. I finished college when I was 17. I used to design buildings very well. That's it, I think."

Seraphine didn't say anything immediately. She seemed to process what he had said before she asked him something.

"You say you used to design. Why used to?"

"I stopped when I figured out I could no longer see my designs."

"Oh! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to sound so impolite." she sounded kind of... embarrassed. He just waved it off.

"Nah, it's okay. Besides, I will be able to design again soon, right?"

She understood what he was talking about.

"Yes. Yes you will be."

"Now, why don't you tell me about you?"

"Well, my name is Seraphine Sharlin Cahill and I am a Lucian/Tomas/Ekaterina/Janus/Madrigal. I am 21 years old. I have a lazy orange cat named Garfield. I like literature. I have taken part in the Vesper fight, though behind the scenes. I have a twin sister. We have both been a secret since the day we were born. My favorite color is purple. I love ice skating and playing the piano. I speak many different languages, like Greek, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Japanese and Swedish. I hate violence and try to avoid it, though do not hesitate to use it when necessary. I finished college when I was 18. Um... that must be it."

Just like she had done before, ted took his time before he answered. And what he said was something she definitely did not expect.

"I must be hard to be kept a secret your entire life."

"It is, in the beginning. But you get used to it. Besides, we still have our friends, both Cahills and non Cahill. It's not that bad, really. Besides, we won't be a secret forever. It's just not the time to let the others know yet. But, to be honest, I prefer living in GCC and being myself to living with the rest of the Cahills and be someone else. I know it may sound weird but that's just how I feel."

"I get it. I really do. After the Hunt, we all had to get used to being ourselves again. To some, like the Kabras,that was more difficult than others, but we all had to do it. So, yeah, I understand the way you feel. You don't want to lose yourself."

They remained quiet, neither of them eager to break the peaceful silence between them. They had both done it again. Be themselves with each other. It was weird, because they couldn't really explain it; they just couldn't help it. Seraphine hadn't been so honest with someone for a long while. She had been just fine with her life, even the secrecy. She had thought that she was okay with it; as long as she had her friends, there was nothing missing. But deep down, in places of her mind even she wouldn't visit, there was a feeling that something just wasn't the way it should be. Talking to Ted helped her realize that. She wasn't ready to expose herself to the rest of the Cahill word yet and the rest of the Cahill world wasn't ready either; but this realization was what she needed to know that she would have to do it one day. She and her family wouldn't be a secret forever. She had always known that, of course, but now she found out that she had the strength to handle the exposure, when it came. All in their own time though. For now, she would just enjoy Ted's and the other Cahills' company. She and her sister had plenty of time before the big reveal. And she was sure as hell going to enjoy it!

* * *

Amy wasn't embarrassed to be in her swimsuit round other people. She had gotten over her insecurities a long time ago; she had fought with the deadliest group of people on earth, after all. No, what embarrassed her was being in front of Ian. It wasn't that she had a crush on him (she _didn't)_, it was just that she had a past with him. Not a very pleasant past too. So, yeah, she wasn't really comfortable being half naked around him. But she knew that she would have to. So taking a deep breath, she slipped off her dress as fast as she could. Feeling her cheeks burn, she placed her towel by a tree next to the lake, took her book out of her bag and began to read. Hardly had she read three pages, though, when she felt someone looking at her. She tried to ignore the feeling and keep on reading, but just couldn't stand it. So she dared to look up. She regretted it immediately.

Ian was looking at her. No, that was wrong; he wasn't looking, he was staring. Almost immediately, she felt the heat rush to the face. She diverted her eyes quickly and tried to read again. Just as she was begging to manage that, she felt someone sitting down next to her. She dared to steal a glance. _Oh my God. _This was probably the girliest reaction she could have, but she couldn't help it. Because Ian was the one sitting next to her, in all his half naked glory. She hadn't had a chance to see his body ever again and it was quite a shock to her senses. He was obviously fit, and his cinnamon skin only highlighted that. _Snap out of it Amy. You do _not _ have a crush on him, remember?_ She tried to distract herself and lose herself in her book, but it was impossible. Ian was far too close. Just as she was starting to feel _really _awkward, Ian spoke.

"Lovely day, isn't it, love?"

This might have sounded lame if anybody else had said it, but this was Ian Kabra and nothing sounded lame when he said it. Let alone when he added that little nickname that Amy loved/hated. _Damn you, Ian Kabra!_

"Indeed."

Well, at least she didn't stutter. Ian didn't give up due to her not being very responsive, though.

"What are you reading?"

He leaned closer as he said that, trying to make out the book's title, and Amy's heart skipped a beat. Or two. She wasn't sure.

"W-wuthering Heights."

_It was good as it lasted_, Amy thought. Her stutter was making a comeback, like it rarely did anymore. And whenever it did, she was around Ian. What a coincidence!

"Emily Bronte, right?"

"Yes."

She wanted to say something, anything, to break the silence. She couldn't stand it anymore.

"So, how is business going?"

Ian looked a bit taken aback by her question. Even Amy had to admit that it was the most irrelevant thing she could have said. But still, it was _something._

"Very well, really. It has taken off lately."

"That's nice to hear!"

He nodded. Once again, silence overwhelmed her.

"How's Ethan?"

What?

"What?"

"How's Ethan? Your boyfriend."

Oh. That. Was it just Amy, or was there really a hint of jealousy in his tone when he said the word 'boyfriend'? Bitterness, maybe?

"He's not my boyfriend anymore."

"Oh! I'm sorry. What happened?"

Was that real concern in his voice?

"Nothing. It just couldn't work anymore. I knew it and so did he. We didn't fight. It was over long before we officially ended actually."

This time, there was no silence. They kept talking about trivial things. They didn't pay attention to the subject of their conversation, really. They just kept talking, because it felt nice. Amy could tell Ian was opening up to her, something he rarely did, so she did all she could to keep their talk going. It was an important moment and she knew it. She was getting to know Ian, the real Ian. He was being himself, not the rich British brat, not the cold and calculating Lucian. Just Ian. And, honestly, she liked him that way.

* * *

**A/N: Aww such a cute little Amian ending! Did you like it? I sure enjoyed writing it! So, as always tell me what you think by reviewing! I will probably update in 4-5 days. Until then, I will have your reviews to keep me company, so REVIEW! (I think this has started to sound tiring... I will try to find a way to replace the word 'review'. Do you have any ideas? If yes, then review! Yep, certainly tiring!)**** Any kind of criticism is accepted, but please be polite.  
**

**Love,  
Burning Tulip**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: First of all, I am terribly sorry for the long wait. I really am. This is not my longest chapter, but the next one will certainly be a quite long one _and _ there is an oneshot coming soon, so be prepared! I once again want to thank all of my amazing reviewers. You are awesome! O love you all!**

**Disclaimer: I, Burning Tulip, do NOT own the 39 Clues.**

* * *

_Chapter ten: Excursion (part two)_

Dan liked the idea of a day trip. He would have a million chances to prank/gross out Natalie Kabra. They didn't really hate each other, though. They had a love/hate friendship, actually. There was a mutual respect between the two. Still, that wouldn't stop him from pranking and teasing her whenever he could. Making her angry was one of his favorite pastimes. So, he did. A lot. And nature would offer tons of new ways to do so. He didn't realize exactly when she came up to him and their conversation began, he just found himself talking to her.

"You have better not to try any tricks today, Daniel. I'm really not eager to make you beg for mercy this time."

"Me, tricks? Never!"

He said in a rather mocking tone. He turned to look at her, and she once again took his breath away. He wasn't in love with her, nor was she his crush. But he had to admit; Natalie Kabra was a beautiful young woman. With her raven black hair, her stunning amber eyes and her graceful posture, Natalie was the kind of woman every boy would want. Apart from him, of course. She turned to look at him, a serious look on her face.

"I'm not kidding, Dan. Do. Not. Try. Anything."

"Okay, okay, queen cobra!"

And that's how their argument began. It wasn't something unusual for them, in fact, as Amy had once said, the only way they could communicate was trough fighting. They never really meant what they said to each other, and they both knew it, so fighting had become their way of talking. It was quite refreshing too. They were bickering the entire way to the lake, laughing at some points too. They stopped one they reached their destination and looked around them in awe like everyone else.

"Wow. It's beautiful!" Natalie whispered.

"Indeed." Dan's answer was a whisper as well.

This was the first (and only) thing they would agree to that day. They soon started chatting again, speaking of trivial matters, like the weather. They argued and laughed and joked and had fun. They spoke to each other without fighting, for once. Maybe this was due to the magic of the place. They didn't know. What they knew was that they were talking like normal people for once. They both liked it.

"So, what do you think of the twins?" Natalie suddenly asked.

"Well, I can't really say anything... We only know them for a day."

"I see your point. But this whole thing seems so unrealistic, doesn't it? I mean, think about it! A secret city, Cahills born in two or more branches... It is a very weird situation!"

"True. But, we are Cahills. What is ever normal in our lives?"

"Nothing, I guess!"

There was a brief silence until Natalie said something really unexpected.

"It's a bit sad isn't it?"

"What?"

"Our way of living. We do not do what people our age do. Most people go out, have fun, study, spend time with others, they make memories for themselves. Stories to tell their children. They don't stop wars, fight with dangerous enemies or get into a deadly Clue Hunt to be the most power people on earth. They live life. We didn't have a chance to enjoy our childhood. We don't have the chance to enjoy our life while we still can. We are not normal."

Dan took a while to answer. He thought of what she had said, processed it and then he replied.

"We are not normal." He agreed. "But we have never been. That doesn't mean we don't live life, though. We do. Our way. We are not under any means ordinary people, but that doesn't equal we cannot enjoy our lives. We get to do things other people wouldn't even think of doing. We get to see things other people don't even dream about. We make memories too. They are not ordinary memories, but that only means they are not boring. We have learned things other people will never have the opportunity to learn. We are different, Natalie. But that's not necessarily a bad thing. Not all of your memories are bad, are they?"

"No. Not all of them are bad. But a lot are. And I don't like the bad ones, Dan. I really don't."

Dan was shocked. He had never seen Natalie look so vulnerable before. Hell, he had never seen her being vulnerable at all! _Still, Natalie is person_, he reminded himself. _A strong person, yes, but a person. She can't be strong at all times, no matter how hard she tries to. She is human. _ He let the realization down on him. _Wow. _Before he knew what he was doing, he took her in his arms and held her close. She was reluctant at first, but gradually gave in to the hug.

"Natalie, you shouldn't be afraid of your memories. They are a reminder of your past, and even though you may not like it, your past is part of you. It is your mistakes and your wins. You should not be scared of your past Natalie. Because you are _not _your past. It changes you, but does not define you. You do that yourself, Natalie. You control who you are and what your future will be like. It's your choice Natalie. You choose who you want to be. Don't be afraid of your memories. Embrace them, learn from them. This is the only way to let go of the past and be who you want to be."

"Who are you and what have you done with Daniel Cahill?"

"Oh, come on!" he said, but laughed. He knew she got his point though.

He would never tell anyone, but this Natalie, the vulnerable Natalie, had really scared him. He didn't know how to behave, what to do. He was just happy that it was over now and she was back to normal. _If this can be thought of as normal. What is normal in our lives anyway? _He thought to himself. _Oh God! Now I sound like Natalie!_

* * *

They had been in the lake for about two hours when Shaunee suggested they had something to eat. They ate all together, engaged in conversations with each other, laughing and joking. This day was turning out to be great! After having eaten, they spent another hour just sitting there, enjoying the warm, early summer sun. Then, they decided they should probably get going. They didn't really want to, because the place was really beautiful, but the newly arrived Cahills hadn't met with their representative mini-branch leader and the twins hadn't met with Cindy, the Janus mini-branch leader, to try on their dresses for the Great Ball and as Shaunee stated, they were probably "going to be killed in a very artistic way." So, they were soon heading back to GCC.

* * *

When they finally reached the city, they found a very stressed Cindy waiting for them by the gate.

"Were on earth have you two been?!" she yelled when she saw Seraphine and Shaunee. "I have been looking for you all day! You have to try on your dresses! I have not spent so many hours working on them and you won't even bother to look at them!"

"Cindy! Relax! We are here now! Besides, we are sure that your work is as incredible as it always is!"

"No, you won't get away with it like last time! You are coming to try them on and you are doing do now! I'm sure your friends here can find out the way back to their rooms on their own. Now, come!"

With that, she practically dragged the girls with her and left. The rest stood there for a minute, trying to understand exactly what had happened. Then, they all went separate ways.

* * *

Ted and Ned went to Ted's room. That's when Ted made the question which had been bothering him during the day.

"Hey, Ned? What do the twins look like?"

"Well, they have waist long golden brown hair. They are tall, though not too much. They have gray green eyes. They are really beautiful, actually. Like models, just not fake."

"I see."

"Technically, you don't."

"It's an expression, Ned."

"..."

"Never mind!"

They were discussing the latest news in the scientific community when Ned got a headache.

"Is it bad?"

"No, not really. It's a normal headache, not a migraine. I think I stayed in the sun for too long! I'm going to get some rest and I'll be fine. Honestly! It's okay, Ted. You worry too much." he added when he saw Ted's incredulous look.

"Are you sure?" he asked, his tone disbelieving.

"Yes!" With that he went to his room and Ted was left alone with his thoughts.

_Waist long golden brown hair. Gray green eyes. Like a model, but not fake. _That's all he could think of. He was able to match that description with Seraphine's voice. Then, another word popped up in his head. _Beautiful..._

* * *

**A/N: So? What did you think? Now, last time, I had asked for a word to replace the word 'review'. I found it really tiring. So, I want to thank _Agent Get Ian And Amy Together _ for suggesting a new word: Cookie! So, did you like it? If you did then cookie! I love cookies. Honestly! So do not forget to cookie and tell me what you think. The next chapter will include a cliffhanger and Amian (!) Yay! Have a nice day and don't forget to cookie!  
**

**Love,  
Burning Tulip**

**P.S.: DO you not like the word 'cookie' as a replacement for 'review'? (I love it, but you are the reader!) If you don't then suggest another. I am certainly looking forward to seeing what your ideal review word will be.**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Hi! If you hate me, you're right. I am an terrible, terrible person. I am so sorry I took so long. I could just go on and on explainong why I did so, but that wouldn't get me anywhere now, would it? So, I'll just move on with the chapter and hurry off to write the next. Befpre that, I want to thank my cookie senters (me reviewers). You guys are all amazing! I love you all!**

**Disclaimer: I, Burning Tulip, do NOT own the 39 Clues.**

* * *

_Chapter eleven: Monthly report_

At about 5, all the newly arrived Cahills met with their mini branch leaders. They were given their passwords and were told more about the mini branches. They also got the chance to see the facilities they had at their disposition, and learned how to operate some high-tech machines. Then, at about 8, they went to the kitchen to get something to eat. When they reached the room, though, they saw a post-it note on the fridge, addressed to them. It read:

_Dear Cahills. Now that you have had the chance to converse with your mini branch leaders and get acquainted with your surroundings, we would like you to join us to dinner at 8:30 pm. You will find us in the dining room. There is a map next to a fridge to help you find it. ~Seraphine and Shaunee_

Indeed, there was. So, they did what the twins told them and moved to the dining room. There they found both girls with their bother, father and what looked like their mother already seated.

"Hello!" the woman said. "You must be the new comers! I'm glad to meet you. I am Eloise, Seraphine and Shaunee's mother."

"Nice to meet you."

"Please, take a seat." Seraphine said, smiling.

They did and had a chance to observe their surroundings. They were in a spacious room which had golden white walls and polished light wooden floor. There was a fire place at each end the table they were seated on was in the middle. It had light chandeliers hanging from the ceiling and beautiful landscape paintings decorated the walls.

They were soon engaged in conversations with each other.

"So, Mrs. Cahill, I thought you were in Italy?" Amy asked the twins' mother.

"Please, call me Eloise. Yes, I was in Italy. Top secret mission and all that. I never really was one to go to missions, but I still went on some. This particular one was carried out perfectly. I came back today, early in the morning."

"So, you usually stay at home? Since you are not one to go on missions?"

"Yes, mostly. I am the organizing type; I usually just plan out missions. How about you my dear Amy?"

"Well, I do go on missions for the Madrigals. I am the next in line branch leader, so I kind of have to."

"So, you're a diplomat?"

"Yes, you could say that." She laughed.

Then the doors opened and the mini branch leaders walked in.

"Well, look who's late. Again." Seraphine said, but she was smiling.

"We do have other things to do you know! Besides, we're not that late. You said 8:30 and it's 8:34!" Ron, the Janus male mini branch leader said.

"Whatever. You're till late!"

He just rolled his eyes and sat like everyone else. There were two more people, teenagers, who the others hadn't seen before. Except Amy and Dan, of course.

"Oh, guys this is Antoinette and David, the Madrigal mini branch leaders. Amy and Dan, you must have already met them, right?"

"Yep." Dan answered for both of them. "They gave us our passwords and a tour around the Madrigal facilities."

"Madrigal mini branch leaders?" Ian asked. "I thought you were the heads of the Madrigal mini branch."

"No, no. Shaunee said. "We are the mayors, not mini branch leaders. Speaking of whom, are you guys ready for tomorrow's monthly report?"

"It's tomorrow?" Oliver asked. "Yes. Don't tell me you forgot again!"

"Hey! You said you would tell me beforehand!"

"I did! I left you a message! I have told you time and time again to check these things! Will you have enough time to do it now before the meeting tomorrow?"

"Yeah… I'll do it when I get home. I still have more time than I did last month!"

"True. Just please don't forget it again…"

"I won't! Promise!"

"Good. Now I think you should get on with the dinner. I don't know about you, but I'm hungry!"

"You're right, sweetie. Angela!" Joshua, the twins' father said and immediately, a blond woman came in.

"Yes, mister Cahill?"

"Would you please serve the dinner?"

"As you wish, sir."

Very soon, they were eating. The food was delicious, Nellie even asked for the recipe. While they were enjoying their meal, Eloise suddenly told her daughters:

"Girls, I almost forgot. Your cousin Claire is going to pay us a visit in two weeks."

"Seraphine, who had been taking a sip from her glass of wine, chocked on her drink and Shaunee dropped her fork.

"WHAT?" they said at the same time.

Eloise seemed calm. "What did you hear?"

"But-"

"Mom-"

"You cannot-"

"Possibly do-"

"That to us!"

"Girls you are overreacting! "

"No, we are not!" the said in sync.

"Mom, we can't-"

"Deal with Claire-"

"Right now!"

"Or ever." Seraphine added under her breath. She said so quietly, though, that nobody heard her comment but Ted and Shaunee who were sitting next to her. Shaunee tried her best to stifle a laugh.

"You'll do just fine. Besides, she'll only be staying for a week."

"A WEEK?"

"Yes, a week." Their mother said, rolling her eyes.

"But, Mom-"

"No 'but's! Claire _is _coming and I expect you to behave yourselves while she'll be here. Am I clear?"

"Yes, Mom." The twins said, frowning.

"Good. Now let us all finish our meal."

They continued their dinner in silence. Once they had eaten the twin Cahill girls excused themselves. Before they left, Seraphine told Ted quietly:

"Tomorrow at 8 will be our first piano lesson."

Then they left.

* * *

The next day Ted woke up at 7:30. He got ready and went to Seraphine's room. He knocked on the door once and waited. Three seconds later she opened and let him in.

"Good morning, Ted!" she said as she led him to the piano.

"Good morning to you too, Seraphine."

"So, are you ready for our lesson?" she asked him when they sat. "Sure!"

"Good. Since today is our first one, I think we should start with the easy staff, like the notes. You'll play what I tell you to and this way, you'll get used to playing without seeing. Ready?"

Ted took a deep breath, placed his hands on the instrument and nodded to show her that he was ready. Their lesson began. Seraphine was instructing him and he did exactly what she said. It was easy to do so. She kept her voice soft and even and was very patient. She corrected his mistakes first by telling him how to do things in the right way and then, if he made the same mistake, she would put her hands on top of his and show him how to do it. As their lesson progressed he found it easier and easier to follow her instructions and, for a moment, he forgot that he wasn't able to see. He kept his eyes closed focused on two things only: the piano and Seraphine's voice. Soon, the lesson ended.

"You did very well!"

"Thank you."

"Next time we'll start working on an actual musical piece. I won't take you in too deep, though."

"Okay, I'm fine with that when will our next lesson be?"

"Um… How about tomorrow, same time?"

"I don't have a problem."

"It's settled then. Oh my God! It's 9:30 already? I have a meeting in half an hour. Wait. You have a meeting in half an hour too."

"I do?" he asked in disbelief.

"Yes. Dad said that you, along with Ned, Sinead, Amy, Ian, Jonah and Hamilton should attend the monthly reports. Your uncle Fiske agreed to this because he said that you should get a closer look on how GCC works since you are the ones most likely to be branch leaders."

"Oh. So we have to come?"

"Yes. In fact I think we should get going. Don't worry about the others; the house has already woken them up."

With that they left.

* * *

They reached the conference room and saw that everyone was already there. They all took their seats, which were named, and once everyone was there, the meeting started.

"Welcome to the monthly official mini branch report, everyone." Seraphine began in a formal tone. "Today is June 15th and we have a few more attendants than we usually do. This is a decision made by Fiske Cahill, the head of the official Madrigal branch, and Joshua Cahill, the Protector of Great Cahill City's secret. From now on Amy, Ian, Jonah, Hamilton, Ned, Ted and Sinead will be present at every monthly report. Has anybody have a problem with that? No? Good. Now we shall begin with the meeting. Would the Janus like to start?"

Cindy and Ron stood up.

"Of course." The female leader said. "No incidents have been reported this month. We are at present working on the Great Ball, which will be in two weeks. Everything has been going according to the plan so far." Then, it was Ron's turn to speak. "The Janus cooperation with the other mini branches has been excellent. There have been absolutely no fights or disagreements."

"That is great news!" Shaunee said. "I'm glad to hear that no problems have occurred. Would the Lucians be next?"

"As you wish, Mayor." Mathew, the Lucian male leader, said in formality. There still was mischievousness in his eyes though. "There has been a poisoning due to carelessness, but the person was given immediate help, so his life is not in danger. There has also been a hacking attack to our system, but it was not successful. Our guess was the Vesperlings. However, it turned out to be an Ekaterina in training. We do not blame the mini branch though, since they had informed us earlier that day, but, due to technical difficulties, we weren't able to receive the e-mail. The problem has been successfully fixed."

Then Alyson, the girl in the Lucian GCC leadership spoke. "We are too working on the Ball, of course, on the safety department, and are happy to inform you that all safety precautions have been taken. We worked with the Ekaterina branch to achieve this and no problems surfaced. To sum up, despite the little mishap with the lost e-mail, this month has gone by smoothly.

"I see." Seraphine was talking again. It's a good thing this trivial misunderstanding was cleared up quickly. What about the Tomas?"

"We've only had one broken arm and two sprained ankles this month!" Eric, the Tomas mini branch leader said proudly. "We have worked with the other branches without any problem ensuing, too." Melanie, the female Tomas head added.

"Only one broken arm, huh?" Shaunee commented on Eric's previous words.

"Well, it's better than last month! We had no broken legs or ribs this time!"

Amy flinched when she heard that. She hated seeing or hearing about people getting hurt.

"True. Is that all?"

"Yup."

"Alright. The Ekaterinas?"

"Well, you already know about the little… incident with the Lucians, so no need to repeat that." Oliver stated. "Other than that, nothing has happened. Everything's been fine. We are handling the Great Ball's tech issues and I'm proud to say that nothing has gone wrong." Marilyn finished.

"Excellent. It's good to know that no rivalries exist here. That leaves the Madrigals."

"Well…" Antoinette began, "Everything has been going perfectly. No problems." "That's true. It's quite surprising really, consider we are talking about Cahills, but everyone seems to be okay with everyone else."

"That's wonderful! It's amazing how everyone seems to be getting along!" Shaunee exclaimed.

"We _always _get along Shaun." Ron told her. "We might have our problems, but we are not that bad."

"True." She agreed. "Now, if there is nothing else anyone would like to say," she paused for a second, waiting for a response. When it didn't come she moved on, "I now declare the meeting to be over. The next one will be in a month from now, July 15th. You may all go."

When the meeting ended, all the mini leaders left, along with the other Cahills. That left Seraphine and Shaunee in the room.

"Well, I guess we have nothing to worry about." Shaunee said. "Everything's been working perfectly."

"Yeah. Except for Claire's visit, of course. Which just _happens _to be at the same time with the Great Ball. How does that sound?"

"Splendid." Her sister replied with a sigh.

They left the room too. They both had a bad feeling about this years Ball and the feeling had a name. Claire.

* * *

**A/N: A semi-cliffhanger! What cha think? Who is Claire? Will she be important? What do you think of the story so far? Wht do you think will happen next? There is only way of teeling me and that is to cookie! I love reading your cookies. They never fail to mame me smile. That's all for now! Be well and do not fogrt to COOKIE! AMy kind of criticism is accepted, but please be polite.**

**Love,  
Burning Tulip.**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Hello, everyone! Missed me? I'm so so so sorry it took me so long. I have no excuse. I apologize again. I promise you, I'll do my very best to update within seven days! Now, this chapter has a bit of everything. There's Amian (yay!), Ted/Seraphine (we really need to finda name for these two... any suggestions?) and the arrival of the person you will hate most in this fic! I really hope you enjoy it! I love you all, especially my wonderful reviewers, who never fail to make me smile! **

**Disclaimer: I, Burning Tulip, do NOT own the 39 Clues.**

* * *

_Chapter twelve: The arrival_

The two weeks passed quickly. _Too quickly, _Seraphine thought and sighed. She wasn't ready to deal with Claire. She would most likely never be. She sighed again. She seemed to be doing that a lot, recently. _And the Ball will be held with her here! This is going to be the worst Great Ball of my life! _

"Good morning, Ser!"

"Good morning, Ted."

She and Ted had gotten pretty close during these past two weeks. Their lessons were going great, and they probably stop having them in a week or two. Ted was really good.

Her voice must have showed how troubled she was, though, and Ted noticed.

"Hey, what's the snag? You sound concerned."

"Same old, same old. Claire."

"Oh. Don't you think you're worrying too much? She can't be that bad!"

"Nope. Not the least bit. Trust me; you'll understand when she arrives tomorrow"

"Okay, okay, whatever you say! But, you said she'll come _tomorrow, _right?" He said, emphasizing the word 'tomorrow'.

"Yes, why?"

"Well, how about taking a break. You've been over-stressing yourself, Ser. Both you and Shaunee need to relax."

She thought about it, and realized he was right. She and her sister had had so many things to take care of, lately. First of all, the ball. Not only had they had to plan it, but they also had to try on their dresses at least ten times, because Cindy, being a true perfectionist, was never really satisfied and want to try this or that before she eventually decided that the gowns were perfect. They had also gone shopping with GCC's newest members (Ian, Amy, Dan, Hamilton, Natalie, Ted, Ned, Sinead, Reagan, Madison, Jonah and Nellie), so that they would pick out their outfits. Moreover, they had planned and carried out two secret missions, babysat their brothers, organized the triplets birthday party, worked on the Starlings' operations and, on top of that, had been worried over Claire's arrival. They had tired themselves too much. They needed a break.

"You know what, Ted? You're right. We should take the day off. I'll have the House notify the others. We'll meet in the City's Square in 30'."

"Okay. Um, Ser? What exactly will we do?"

He couldn't see her, but he was absolutely sure she smiled, probably slyly.

"Oh, you'll see! Now, go get ready. And, Ted?" She asked as they were walking to the door.

"Yeah?" He got out and turned his head towards the sound of her voice.

"Wear a swimsuit." With that, she closed the door.

* * *

Thirty minutes later, all the mini-branch leaders along with Seraphine, Shaunee and the rest of the younger generation of Cahills were gathered in the square.

"May I have your attention, please?" Seraphine said and everyone turned to look at her. "Thank you. Now, as you all know, we will be taking a much-needed break. As you also know, the location of our destination will be kept a secret until we get there. All I have to say is that this will be an excellent time to relax before the little blond demon arrives tomorrow. So, enjoy today and be prepared for a hell of week which starts tomorrow."

Everyone was laughing by the time she finished her little speech. They had all come closer those past weeks and it was a common secret that Seraphine Cahill was _not _a big fan of her cousin's. Nobody knew why though. According to her, Claire was devil's reincarnation and she just hated her. Whatever the case, though, it was always fun listening to her talking about her beloved relative.

The twins in general proved to be very friendly and willing to help them with anything they needed. Shaunee never failed to make them laugh (even Ian had trouble controlling his laughter, something she took great pride in) and Seraphine might usually be the serious one, but when she was fun, she was _fun. _She had always something to say and watching her argue with Antoinette was terribly amusing each time. Probably because they were both masters of sarcasm and didn't hesitate to use it against each other.

The ride was about thirty minutes and absolutely beautiful. There was green all around them, with various trees, flowers and bushes. The colours were unbelievable. From dark red to pink so light it seemed white, from deep blues to the colour they sky is on a clear summer day, from sun yellow to fire orange, every colour was there, and combined, these colours created the most breathtaking scenery.

"It's quite the sight, isn't it?" Ian asked Amy at some point. She turned and smiled at him. He had never seen anything more wonderful in his life.

"It is. It's truly impressive how all these colours blend in together. Just beautiful."

"Indeed." He'd like to add '_just like you', _but didn't dare. He didn't want to scare her off. He had promised himself that this time, he'd do things right. He had to earn her trust, not charm his way into it, like he'd do with any other girl. Amy was not just any other girl. She was the one he was in love with. It felt good to admit it, even if it was only to himself.

He had always felt something for her. At first he thought it was just because she offered him a challenge. She had been the only girl not to fall for his charms instantly. But it was more than that, because, even when he had her wrapped around his little finger, he still felt the same way. If anything, the feeling was stronger. He did the only thing he could do at the time; he pushed her away, made her hate him, however, instead of feeling better, he felt even worse. Then, Evan came and took her away from him. And he was jealous. Oh, god, how jealous he was! It should have been him. Ian should be the one to make her smile, not Evan. Ian should be the one to shower her with gifts, not Evan. He should have been the one to cherish her and love her, and have her love in return, _not _Evan. Absolutely not Evan. But Ian was no foul. He knew very well that he wasn't worth it. He wasn't worth _her._ Could it be that this was he chance? Would he be good enough? _Well, there's only one way to know, I guess,_ he thought.

"So, do you like it here?"

"I don't _not _like it, but it's still a bit, strange. I mean, there was a whole city filled with Cahills from all branches that lived together in peace, and nobody knew about it. It's kind of hard to get used to. There's still a lot to take in. But, I do enjoy the time we spend here; it is fun and we spend quality time together, without wanting to kill each other. Plus everyone is really friendly and has accepted us. So, yeah, I like it. How about you?"

"It's fine, I guess. It's just, I'm not really used to us getting along. We used to try and rip each other to shreds!"

She smiled.

"Well, 'used to' are the key words, aren't they?"

He smiled back.

"Yeah, I guess they are."

They just sat there after that, in a comfortable silence. Neither tried to break it, neither felt the need to. They just sat there, looking outside the window and waiting to reach their destination.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, they did. They were in a beautiful beach. The sand was an amazing golden colour and the water was so clear you could see the seabed without effort. The sun was shining and the temperature was above 30˚C. It was the perfect day to go swimming. But mere swimming was not was Seraphine had in mind and they were soon going to find to find that out. In fact, the exact moment they all got out of the cars, her plans became clear. They heard a faint _pfssssss_ noise and then a not-so-faint _splash!_ , which was followed by a sharp intake of breath and a "Hey!" that sounded like Hamilton. Everyone turned towards him and what they saw made them laugh hysterically. Hamilton Holt was standing there, all wet and was glaring at Seraphine, who did her best not to laugh like everyone else, but could not hide a sly smile. Oh, did I mention she was holding a water bomb? Well, she was.

"You are so dead, Cahill." Hamilton said in a dangerously calm tone.

"Give it your best shot, Holt." was Seraphine's answer.

Had it been anybody else, they would have been running away from the Tomas screaming, but Ser was _not _like everybody else. Unfortunately for him, Hamilton seemed to forget that and went straight towards her, full speed. For a moment, she did nothing, just stood there and watched him advance. Then, at the absolutely last moment, she took a step to the right and the Holt found himself without a target. He made an abrupt stop and looked around confused.

"Over here, Hammy!"

He turned to face her and the look on his face was enough to make the others, who were worried for Seraphine's safety, laugh again. Hamilton started chasing her again, but this time, Ser actually run. And, man, was she _fast. _They were running around for two minutes or so, when Hamilton gave up, saying that catching the Roadrunner was easier. He blamed it to her four-branched DNA. Ser just smiled, reached behind her, and threw not one, but three water bombs to three different Cahills. Her victims were Ian, Jonah and Cindy. They had no time to react though, for Shaunee started throwing water balloons to anyone who was in sight. The mini-branch leaders formed a defense force, using the water pistols they found in the cars, and the rest of the Cahills joined forces and were attacking the twins using balloons they too found in the cars. Soon enough, everyone was attacking everybody else and they were all laughing. Not too long after, they collapsed on the sand and laughed.

"Well, that must have been the greatest idea I have ever had!" Seraphine said. "And none of you can say you didn't enjoy it!" she added.

"True."

They stayed there for hours, just swimming and sunbathing and playing beach volleyball. It was the most fun Seraphine and Shaunee had had in a long while. Then, they watched the sunset. It was absolutely beautiful. The sun seemed to slowly descend in the water, dyeing it and the sky the most wonderful colours. It was a sight to behold.

"Well, I think it's time we got going. It's almost nine."

"Sure. Before we go home , though, there's one last thing we should see."

"What is it?"

"It's a surprise. Trust me, you'll love it. Just follow me."

So they followed Shaunee and she led them through the woods, to a small clearing. It wasn't anything much, just an area with no trees and a few rocks in the middle. It had this aura though, like there was more to it than the eye can see. And then, the moment the sun set, fireflies appeared, but nobody could tell where they came from. There must have been over a hundred fireflies, and their glow made the clearing look magical. Honestly, if a unicorn came in they wouldn't have been surprised.

"What is it?" Ted whispered in Seraphine's ear.

"I can't tell you that. What do you feel it is?"

"I feel… I feel…" he was about to finish his sentence, but hesitated.

"What? Come on, tell me." she urged in a soft whisper. "What do you feel?"

"It's silly."

"No it's not. What you feel is never silly, Ted Starling. It can't be. Tell me, I promise I won't tell anyone, if you don't want me to."

He sighed, but gave in.

"I feel beauty. I cannot really explain it, but that's it. I mean it's like…" He never got to finish that sentence. Seraphine pressed her finger on his lips and shushed him.

"I understand." That was all she said, but she didn't really need to say anything more. They sat there, no one saying a word, for a couple of minutes more, when they left, silently. They did not break the silence until they got back to the city, but there was no need to. It was a comfortable silence, one they did not want to break. They reached the city and parted ways, after promising to Seraphine that they would all be in the Madrigal building's living room the next morning, so that she would have to face Claire (or the C-monster as she called her) alone. They laughed a bit at that, but Seraphine's look told them she did _not _find it funny. They bid each other good night and went to their rooms.

* * *

The next morning they were all having breakfast when they heard the doorbell ring. Seraphine got up slowly and moved towards the door, with Shaunee right behind her. She opened it and in came a girl, about the same age as the twins. She had dirty blond hair and brown eyes. She was at the same height as Seraphine, maybe an inch taller.

"Hello, Seraphine! Hey Shaunee!" she said hugging them. They both cringed, but she didn't notice.

"Actually, Claire, I'm Shaunee…"

"Details!" her voice was high-pitched and she was close to screaming. Now, who will carry my bags? Where is auntie Eloise? Uncle Joshua? I do hope my room has a great view."

"Hello, Claire. How are you?" The twins'mother asked, as she appeared from the kitchen.

"I'm fine, auntie El." The girl replied, beaming.

"You will be staying in the room you always do. I hope you are okay with this?"

"Oh, yes, don't worry auntie El."

"Great then, I'll have someone get it ready. In the mean time, why don't you go to the living room with the girls? There are a few people I would like you to meet."

"Sure! Lead the way, Shaun!"

"I'm Seraphine, but okay."

The twins heard their mother whisper something that sounded a lot like 'behave yourselves', but choose to ignore it. They entered the living room and Claire wasted no time. She went around introducing herself, while the Cahill twins watched. She first introduced herself to the girls and then started with the boys. She did not notice Amy's glare when she practically hugged Ian, or Sinead's when she all but kissed Hamilton. It was not something the other Cahills paid special attention to, either. They knew pretty well what was going on between them, so they didn't comment on it. What they did pay attention to, however, was Seraphine's reaction when her cousin exclaimed "And what do we have here?" and then proceeded to hug Ted. Everybody suspected there was something going on between these two, and their suspicions were confirmed when, the moment Claire hugged Ted, Ser's glare was so intense, that if looks could kill, Claire would be suffering a slow and painful death. They exchanged knowing glances and hidden smiles and could barely contain their laughter when Claire turned and Seraphine's expression changed from a heated glare to a sweet smile in less than a second.

"I think I'll go take a shower and have a nap. Jet lag is killing me!"

"Sure. Take your time. You will be staying for a week after all!"

Claire either did not notice the edge in Seraphine's words, or she choose to ignore it because she smiled brightly and made her way towards her room. The moment they heard the door open and close, Shaunee and her sister sat down next to the others and glared at the floor.

"If you keep glaring like that you will end up with wrinkles. And you might as well set the building on fire." Natalie said. The glaring did stop, but it was obvious that their mood was not any better.

"I agree with you. I may not know her, but I surely do not like her!" Sinead said.

"Sinead's right." Amy, just like pretty much every female in the room, agreed with the Ekaterina.

"Amy, I don't recognize you!" Dan said mockingly "You judge her and yet you don't know her! I'm proud of you sis!" Amy just glared at him.

"Oh, trust me Dan, you'll come to agree with your sister in no time!" David, the Madrigal mini-branch leader said.

"Yeah!" , Cindy said. "We've known her for years and she's nothing more than a big, arrogant pain in the neck!"

"I actually agree with you. She almost broke my ribs." Ted's words brought a smile in Seraphine's lips, but it faded quickly.

"You've seen nothing yet, my dear friends. Just give her a day, and I promise you, any doubt about her being _evil _will evaporate."

"Oh, man! _How_ are we going to survive this, sis?" Shaunee asked.

"I've got no idea, Shaun. Absolutely no idea."

"This is going to be the best week ever." Cindy said and her tone was everything but excited.

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**A/N: So, how was it? You know what to do! Cookie! Now, I want to know what you think will happen next. What do you think of Claire? What is the first evil thing I should make her do? To tell me, all you have to do is cookie! (I so love this review word!) I love you all! Any kind of criticism is accepted, but please be polite.**

**Love,  
Burning Tulip**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: YAY! I did it! You have no idea how proud I am for being able to write this chapter. I had a terrible case of writer's block. I knew what I wanted to happen, but I just couldn't write it down. It was awful. So, I apologise if this chapter is not all that great. The next chapter will be the Ball! Are you excited? I'm excited. Anyway. I talk too much! I hope you enjoy! **

**Disclaimer: I, Burning Tulip, do not own the 39 Clues.**

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_Chapter thirteen: Dear Cousin Claire_

It was about 3 o'clock and no one had heard from Claire again. It was impossible to pretend she wasn't there though. It seemed that the house's whole atmosphere had changed. They hadn't seen the twins, either. Of course, that was easily explained; Seraphine and Shaunee were very busy the last few days. However, nobody thought that that was the true reason, because the days prior to Claire's arrival the girls would actually exit their rooms from time to time. This time they hadn't left their rooms in 6 whole hours. As for the rest of the Cahills, they weren't sitting around, either. The mini-branch leaders said they needed help decorating the ballroom for the ball that was to be held in two days, so they were all working there. They were almost done with the golden balloons that had the Cahill emblem on them and were beginning to hang the white Christmas lights, when Shaunee entered the room.

"Hey guys! How's it going? Wow. You've done a really great job here! Seraphine and I apologize we weren't able to help, we have a lot of work, but we will try to hel-"

"Shaunee! Relax! We've got it." Eric said.

"Yeah, Shaunee, it's okay. We know you have tons of work!" Sinead added.

"That we have. Anyway, that's not why I'm here. Could you and your brothers come with me, please? There are a few things we should discuss. Oh, and you should take a break. Dinner will be served at 7 and since it will be the first dinner with the C-devil, we need you all to be there. Oh, Nellie's cooking."

"'Kay, see you there Shaun!"

"Bye!" she said and left with the Starlings.

* * *

"So, where are we going? What do you want to tell us? Is it about the surgery?"

Ned and Ted were asking questions so fast, it was impossible to tell who was saying what and what exactly they were saying.

"Whoa! Take a breath!"

"Sorry."

"It's okay. We're going to the conference room. There is Ser waiting for us with a couple of our best neurologists. We think we might be on to something."

They walked in silence after that, but there was this feeling of excitement in the air. Could this really be it? Would they actually make it this time? The Starling triplets had tried to find ways to solve their problem, but none of these ways was efficient. They kept trying, but they were not sure whether they would actually find a solution. That was until they met Seraphine and Shaunee. The sisters gave them hope again. Two more brilliant minds working on their case, with a fresh perspective and new ideas. They had no idea what kind of equipment the two had, but based on what they had seen, it would be logical for them to have access to technology they had only seen in dreams. So it was possible that they would make it this time. They were hopeful. They reached the room, took a deep breath and entered.

"Hey guys!" Seraphine's voice greeted them when they walked in. they were also greeted by two men and a woman, who they had never seen before. One of them, a man about forty years old rose from his seat to introduce himself and the other two.

"Hello, I am doctor Jonathan Martin, this-" he pointed at the second man who smiled and nodded- " is doctor Ashton Richards and this-" the woman smiled at them-" is doctor Anna Mauers. We are all neurologists and Ekaterinas, like you. The Mayors asked us to take a look at your tests, to see if we could do something to help with your conditions and we think we have found a solution. Please take a seat while we explain this to you."

They did as they were told and the meeting begun.

* * *

Claire woke up at around 3 o'clock in the afternoon. She looked around her room and sighed. Her room was a very nice room, yes, it was certainly a big one and had a lot of space, not to mention a beautiful view from the balcony, but it was just not good enough. She had to have the best. She was not a spoiled kid, well, at least not in the classical sense. Her parents did not spoil her, and raised her telling her that she had to be content with what she had, that she shouldn't want it all, that money wasn't everything and she shouldn't make it the centre of her world. Well, too bad, because she had spoiled herself. She was a girl who liked sparkly tings, especially when they were worth a lot. However, the room she could stand. She could make whatever changes she wished anyway. No, it was not the room that bothered her. It was her cousins.

They were her grandmother's sister's grandchildren and Claire hated them. No, that was a lie. She hated Seraphine and just disliked Shaunee for being her sister and her twin sister at that. Why, you ask? Well, it was rather simple, really. Seraphine had it all. She was beautiful, talented, and smart. She was good at everything and nobody ever found a single flaw on her. While Claire had to work hard to look half as good as Seraphine, who wasn't even trying! No more. She had a plan and she was going to put it to action immediately. Seraphine had taken everything away from her and everything to Claire was the spot light. It was in her nature, she couldn't help it. She _was _a Janus after all. But even though she had no problem being in the centre of attention when she was anywhere else, with anyone else, the moment Seraphine appeared this was taken from her and she was reduced to being a mere beautiful girl in a room filled with other beautiful girls. And that she couldn't take couldn't swallow. She was determined to take her spot light back and she had a whole week to do so. But first, she would take everything away form her cousin. The way Seraphine looked at that boy, Ted, hadn't gone unnoticed by her and that made him ideal for she had in mind. _Be prepared, my dear cousin. You have no idea what you will be facing. _Smiling to herself, Claire made her way downstairs.

* * *

Seraphine had just finished explaining the details to the Starlings, with help from the doctors, of course. It was really simple, actually. Ted would have to undergo a brain operation, while Ned would have to take a pill treatment. It _was _simple, especially the pill part, but that did not mean it was going to be easy or 100% safe. That was something all of them were well aware of, but as far as they knew, there was no other way.

"Okay,-" Sinead said with a troubled voice-" I get the surgery. It was something we had thought ourselves, but hadn't figured out the details. But, pills? I mean, he _has _been taking pills and they did nothing. How do we know these will work? How did you even get the idea?"

"Well,-" Shaunee began-"the idea came from some hangover-fighting pills I had made a couple years ago. They work miracles, trust me. Then, since they were such a success, I decided to see if I could make similar pills to fight common headaches and mild migraines. It turned out great too. So, now, we thought that if these would work so well, why not make some pills for Ned? Of course, it is going to be much more difficult, since these are not common migraines. But I really think I can do it. There is no guarantee that it will work, and the first pills will not have permanent effect, but we can give it a shot. If they manage to stop one migraine at a time, I am positive that I can make their effects permanent and stop the headaches once and for all."

Sinead nodded. It sounded logical enough.

"So,-" Seraphine asked-"do you agree?"

"Yes." The Starlings answered in one voice.

* * *

Time flew by quickly and before they knew it, it was dinner time. They all went to the dining room, instead of the kitchen, where they usually ate, because, as Shaunee had said, whenever they had a guest, their first dinner in the building would be formal. It was five to seven, though and Claire wasn't there. The Cahills were all engaged in conversation, but they could feel the tension coming from Seraphine and Shaunee. Two to seven and Claire was nowhere to be seen, when the girls' parents entered the room and took their seats. One to seven. No one was pretending that they were deep in conversation and they were all looking around, as if they expected Claire to appear out of thin air, or through the walls. Seven o'clock. The door opened and she walked in. She was dressed in a nice dress, which looked more suitable for a glamorous book presentation than a family dinner. The twin Cahill girls had told them to expect something like that, though, and everyone was quite well dressed as well. Even the Tomas were dressed nicely. Seraphine was proud of them all. She knew that Claire would try something like that, try to make all the others feel that she was better than them, but she had no idea who she was dealing with. Seraphine smiled at the thought of Claire trying to intimidate Natalie Kabra or seduce Hamilton Holt. These people were the ones who had ended the Clue Hunt, the ones who had united the branches! Even Amy, who used to be shy and easily intimidated, was now a strong young woman, who would speak up for herself and protect her family. Did her cousin really think that she could break them with just a fancy dress?

The dinner began. They were all quiet at first, but soon they were all talking to each other again. Or, at least, they were trying to. What they were really doing is appear occupied, while glancing at Claire, Ted and Seraphine, who were seated next to each other in that exact order. Seraphine managed to ignite a conversation first. Sinead knew better, though. Her brother liked Seraphine, a lot. She could see the feeling was mutual and she liked that. She wanted him to be happy and she knew that he and Seraphine would make a wonderful couple. She was worried about Claire though. There was something about her that made Sinead think the worst. Besides, she had seen the way Claire had looked at Seraphine the night before. There was envy in her eyes and then, when she saw the way Ser looked at Ted, Claire's eyes had a glint that screamed trouble to Sinead. She was great at reading people and she could see that Claire wanted to make her cousin suffer and Sinead really doubted that she would hesitate if it came to hurting others. So, there was only one thing that could be done to protect her brother. He and Seraphine should become a couple. And fast. But how? Then, an idea came to her and she could swear that a light bulb appeared on top of her head. The ball! She could tell Ted to escort Seraphine! It was easy. She knew her brother and she knew that if she confronted him about his feelings for the Cahill twin he wouldn't lie. She could get Ned to talk to him too. Even if Ted wouldn't listen to her, he would listen to their brother. She smiled at that though. She would protect her brother and make him happy. She couldn't help but think that then he might trust her a little bit more. Just a tiny bit more. She really hoped so. She had regretted what she did, deeply. It was foolish, it was dangerous, and it was totally stupid. But she couldn't stand the thought of him being all alone, not being able to see, in a dungeon, as a Vesper hostage. She couldn't stand that. God, she had been so stupid. But she would make it up to them, no matter what. She would prove that she was worthy of their trust, even if it would be the last thing she would ever do.

Claire didn't dare do or say anything, of course, since Seraphine's and Shaunee's parents were present, so the dinner was over quickly. They bid each other good night and went to their rooms. Seraphine had trouble sleeping that night. There was one thought bothering her too much to relax and fall asleep. _Tomorrow is the Ball. And Claire will be there._

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**A/N: Sooo? What do you think? Huh? Huh? You know what to do! COOKIE! I really want to see many cookies. Please? Your cookies are what keeps me going so please cookie. (For those who have forgotten, cookie = review) I love you all!** **Any kind of criticism is accepted, but please be polite. **

**Much love,  
Burning Tulip.**


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